Viruses are the most abundant microbes on earth and are able to infect a diverse range of organisms including plants, animals, bacteria, and archaea. Virus assembly, the process of generating new virus particles from an infected cell, relies on a precise coordination of cellular and viral components. During assembly, some viruses will incorporate part of the cell membrane from the host cell into the new virus particles. This project will determine the viral components that are involved in incorporating the host cell membrane during virus assembly. Using Alphaviruses as the model system, this project will characterize specific viral membrane proteins known as 6K and TF that are required during virus assembly, the post-translational modifications required by these proteins to carry out specific functions, how the proteins organize within the particle to create a stable particle, and where in the virus particles these proteins are localized. The proteins being studied from the Alphavirus family are thought to function similarly to proteins in other virus families. Thus, this research could potentially reveal new assembly mechanisms shared by different virus families that are not genetically similar.
BROADER IMPACTS This research promotes interdisciplinary collaborations and will provide training to undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral fellows from virology, structural biology, and nanoscience programs. Outside of the laboratory, the project will support an outreach program with hands-on activities that emphasize size, symmetry, and structure in microbes, eukaryotic cells, and viruses. The projects target high school students to encourage them to pursue careers in science and science education. The activities will also be incorporated into established outreach programs at Indiana University allowing them to reach elementary-aged students, teachers, and community members.
