The use of cloning and expression vectors to study and experimentally manipulate individual genes, independent of their normal resident environment, is a central and vital theme in modern molecular genetic experimentation. Due to a number of unique biological attributes, vaccinia virus (VV) would seem to offer an ideal system for such studies. A number of laboratories have demonstrated the feasibility of this approach by constructing recombinant VV strains which contain and express heterologous viral antigens. Such hybrid vaccine strains may prove useful against a variety of human and animal diseases. Unfortunately, the current methodologies employed to construct recombinant VV are slow, time-consuming, expensive, and do not facilitate genetic engineering of the foreign insert. These drawbacks have thus far retarded the development of VV as a generalized eukaryotic expression vector. The experiments outlined in this proposal have three objectives: 1) To streamline the methods employed to construct chimeric genes and to assay their biological activities; 2) To construct insertion plasmids containing dominant selectable markers which will allow direct, one-step, selection of VV recombinants containing foreign inserts; and 3) To use VV as a research tool with which to study gene systems that are not readily amenable to more conventional approaches - RNA viruses (animal and plant), histocompatibility antigens, and immunoglobulin genes. It is anticipated that such studies will provide insights into a number of basic questions pertaining to viral development and gene regulation as well as developing technologies useful for further development and refinement of VV hybrid vaccine strains.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Modified Research Career Development Award (K04)
Project #
1K04AI000666-01
Application #
3070747
Study Section
Experimental Virology Study Section (EVR)
Project Start
1985-09-15
Project End
1990-08-31
Budget Start
1985-09-15
Budget End
1986-08-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1985
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Oregon State University
Department
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
053599908
City
Corvallis
State
OR
Country
United States
Zip Code
97339
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