ELUCIDATING STRUCTURE AND LOCALIZATION OF LUTEOVIRIDS AS A MEANS TO CHARACTERIZE PATHOGEN-VECTOR INTERACTIONS

Goals:My long-term goal is to develop novel control strategies by disrupting the protein-protein interactions necessary for transmission. To that end, the proposed work aims to define the macromolecular structure of the viral capsid and will build a toolkit of visualization techniques to further elucidate the subcellular vector interactions that regulate transmission.Objectives:Determine the atomic resolution structural geometry of an intactPolerovirus. This will be done through specific examination of the coat protein as well as the capsid in its entirety.Define the cellular pathway and movement of luteovirids in aphid vectors during acquisition and transmission.