Packaging and Structure of Viral Genomes

描述（由申请人提供）：病毒生命周期中的关键步骤之一是基因组的包装。这项研究的目的是了解病毒包装在两个简单的，但非常不同的系统的结构，动力学和热力学方面。λ型噬菌体利用ATP驱动的马达将双链DNA（ds-DNA）基因组插入预先形成的衣壳中。野田病毒通过一系列精心策划的蛋白质-RNA和蛋白质-蛋白质结合事件，在含有两个单链RNA的基因组周围组装蛋白质衣壳。我们将使用各种工具来开发一系列越来越详细的噬菌体P4的三维分子模型;以及两种RNA病毒，卫星烟草花叶病毒（STMV）和帕里科托病毒（PaV）。PaV是野大卫病毒科（Nodaviridae）的一个特征明确的成员。本研究旨在合理化各种各样的实验数据，并在发展假说，将激励未来的实验工作。在ds-DNA噬菌体的工作的动机，在一定程度上，假设该系统是理想的工具，更准确地处理静电效应，这是至关重要的，我们进一步了解核酸的结构和热力学问题的发展。对STMV和PaV的研究将检验以下假设：包装中的RNA选择不是由特定RNA序列或小的局部结构基序的识别驱动的，而是由病毒RNA采用与病毒对称性所施加的约束相容的二级结构的能力驱动的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): One of the critical steps in the life cycle of a virus is the packaging of the genome. This research is aimed at understanding the structural, kinetic and thermodynamic aspects of viral packaging in two simple, but very different, systems. Lambdoid bacteriophage use an ATP-driven motor to insert a double-stranded DNA (ds-DNA) genome into a preformed capsid. Nodaviruses assemble the protein capsid around a genome containing two single-stranded RNAs through an orchestrated series of protein-RNA and protein-protein binding events. We will use a variety of tools to develop a series of increasingly detailed three-dimensional molecular models for bacteriophage P4; and for two RNA viruses, satellite tobacco mosaic virus (STMV) and pariacoto virus (PaV). PaV is a well-characterized member of the Nodaviridae family. This research is aimed at rationalizing a wide variety of experimental data, and at developing hypotheses that will motivate future experimental work. The work on ds-DNA bacteriophage is motivated, in part, by the hypothesis that this system is ideal for the development of tools for the more accurate treatment of electrostatic effects, which is critical for further advances in our understanding of structural and thermodynamic issues in nucleic acids. The work on STMV and PaV will test the hypothesis that RNA selection in packaging is not driven by the recognition of a particular RNA sequence or small local structural motif, but by the viral RNA's ability to adopt secondary structures compatible with constraints imposed by viral symmetry.