Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Taura syndrome wikipedia , lookup
Neonatal infection wikipedia , lookup
Hepatitis C wikipedia , lookup
Canine distemper wikipedia , lookup
Marburg virus disease wikipedia , lookup
Influenza A virus wikipedia , lookup
Canine parvovirus wikipedia , lookup
Orthohantavirus wikipedia , lookup
Human cytomegalovirus wikipedia , lookup
Abstract Our bodies have many complex mechanisms in place for defending against viral infection. However, viruses have evolved ways to circumvent or disrupt these innate defenses in order to replicate and cause disease. My project aims to understand how Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) caused a deadly outbreak and epidemic in 2002-2003. SARS is characterized by a lack of early recognition and signaling by the immune system, and it has since been discovered that SARS-CoV encodes many proteins that are important in blocking our innate immune response to viruses. SARS-CoV encodes a papain-like protease, PLpro, which is important for viral replication but also blocks components of our innate immune system within virally infected cells. The goal of my project is to determine how PLpro interacts with host factors during viral infection, and if blocking the interaction of PLpro with host factors causes a reduction in virulence. If disrupting PLpro activity is detrimental to the virus, my project opens up a great candidate protein for antiviral drug and vaccine development. Summer Research My summer undergraduate will work closely with me in using targeted mutagenesis to affect the function of SARS-CoV PLpro. Using mutagenesis, we can change the cellular activity of PLpro to examine how PLpro interacts with the innate immune system and how this interaction is beneficial to the virus. This includes generation of novel PLpro mutants by PCR and testing the activity of PLpro mutants using gene reporter assays in a cell culture based system. This work will usually require six to eight hours a day for five days a week during normal working hours. In addition to learning how to think and work like a virologist, the Microbiology and Immunology Department offers many seminars and presentations which are not only interesting but cover a variety of topics which the student can also participate in.