| DATE: |
2012-04-05 13:30 - 15:30 |
| PLACE: |
#1 meeting room, 2nd floor, 4 go kan |
| TITLE: |
Dynamics and Stability in Maturation of a Eukaryotic Virus: Mechanisms of a Molecular Machine |
| CONTACT: |
Masato Kawasaki 4347 |
| SPEAKER: |
Prof. Jack Johnson (The Scripps Research Institute) |
| LANGUAGE: |
English |
| ABSTRACT: |
Assembly of quasi-equivalent virus capsids engages molecular switches to create different interface contacts between the same gene products. The particle often assembles as a fragile, spherical shell in which the subunits are properly positioned on the appropriate surface lattice and then quasi-equivalent subunit contacts differentiate during maturation, creating a robust, faceted particle. Folding of the switch regions of the subunit depends on assembly and maturation that are affected by biochemical cues. NwV is a quasi-equivalent virus, with a T=4 surface lattice, where this process is dramatic (a change in particle size of 100Å during maturation) and can be investigated in vitro. Here we use biochemistry1, Small Angle X-ray Scattering2 and electron cryo-microscopy and image reconstruction (CryoEM)3 to characterize maturation intermediates and an associated auto-catalytic cleavage, the kinetics of morphological change and to demonstrate that regions of NwV subunit folding are maturation-dependent and occur at rates determined by their quasi-equivalent position in the capsid.
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