Lab Research Focus
The focus of our research is on the structure and assembly of viruses.
Small, spherical viruses with a lipid envelope and a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome include numerous important pathogens of humans and animals, including West Nile virus, Ross River virus, SARS coronavirus and Equine arteritis virus. All these viruses contain a core or nucleocapsid consisting of a single protein. We are interested in the structure and assembly of the nucleocapsid proteins, and their role in the viral life cycle and interactions with the host cell. We use biochemical and biophysical techniques to study the assembly of the nucleocapsid in vitro, combined with structural methods like cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography.
In addition, we study the structure and assembly of bacteriophages, in particular P2/P4, which form useful model systems for macromolecular assembly processes in general. Since most proteins in the cell are part of some macromolecular complex in their active form, such processes are fundamental to all biological organisms.
|
|
|
