Date of Award
Spring 2011
Author's School
College of Arts & Sciences
Author's Department/Program
Biology
Abstract
Orthopoxviruses are a group of large double-stranded DNA viruses that include variola virus, the causative agent of smallpox. With the largest genome of all Orthopoxviruses, cowpox virus (CPXV) contains many open reading frames (ORFs) involved in controlling the immune response. Here, in order to confirm the sequence of our lab clone of Cowpox Brighton Red strain, we finished and annotated the central portion of the genome to high quality but could not complete the inverted terminal repeats at the ends. Recently, the Yokoyama lab found two ORFs, CPXV012 and CPXV203, in the central region that are involved in controlling the antigen presentation pathway of immunity. Here, we used two comparative approaches to determine which regions and amino acids are functionally important CPXV012 and CPXV203. Results indicate that almost all portions of CPXV012 are needed for its function. Currently, we are still comparing CPXV203 to its homolog in Taterapox virus (TATV), a related Orthopoxvirus. We hope that our results will provide a starting point into more detailed studies on the protein-protein interactions behind these two immunomodulatory genes and provide a better understanding behind viral-host interactions and differences in individual susceptibility to infection.
Language
English (en)
Advisor/Committee Chair
Wayne Yokoyama
Recommended Citation
Ma, Jimmy, "Comparative Analysis of Immune Evasion in Cowpox Virus" (2011). Undergraduate Theses—Restricted. 6.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/undergrad_honors/6