Virology & Mycology
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0517
+44 1223 790975
ISSN: 2161-0517
+44 1223 790975
Elena V Orlova
University of London, UK
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Virol Mycol
Viruses are biomolecular nanomachines designed to infect cell hosts with high efficiency and specificity. Therefore, they are intrinsically flexible and naturally exist in multiple conformations that can be visualized at nearly native conditions by modern structural methods, such as Cryo-electron microscopy (EM). Advances of the last decade in technology and software development led to the revelation of structural variations in complexes and improvements in a resolution of EM structures. Structural analysis based on single-particle methods suggests several approaches for the separation of conformational states and therefore disclosure of the functioning mechanisms of complexes. Revelation of the virus activity through structural analysis requires the examination of large datasets, sophisticated programs, and significant computing power. Hybrid approaches based on combination of X-ray, NMR, SAXS, and structurally driven mutagenesis are essential for understanding the function of biological complexes. We will demonstrate successful applications of these methods in structural studies of bacteriophages. Phages are viruses of bacteria; their genome is packaged in stable and rigid capsids which shield it from the extracellular environment. Our current understanding of phage function has been advanced by the emergence of a number of phage structures over the past decade. The similarity of their structural components indicates that phages have a common ancestor and share a common morphogenetic pathway. In our study we have determined structures of the bacteriophage Spp1 capsids at nearly atomic resolution. These structures have allowed us to trace an extensive network of contacts between capsid proteins and suggest a mechanism of the phage maturation.
Elena V Orlova received her BSc and MSc in Physics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. She has done her PhD degree in Physics and Mathematics from the Institute of Crystallography in Moscow. After several years at the Institute of Crystallography in Moscow, she has worked in the laboratories of Professor W Chiu (USA) and Professor M van Heel (Berlin/London). Currently, she is a Professor at Birkbeck College (University of London). Her research interests are in structural analysis of biomacromolecular complexes using Cryo-electron microscopy and image processing. Her group has analyzed a range of different bio complexes: Viral Assemblies, Helicases and Secretion Systems.