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Full-Text Articles in Viruses

Identification Of The Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome Mec (Sccmec) Element In Viral Fractions From Environmental Samples, Emily M. Pelto May 2015

Identification Of The Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome Mec (Sccmec) Element In Viral Fractions From Environmental Samples, Emily M. Pelto

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Antibiotic resistance attributed to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become a growing concern over the last decade in both the healthcare and agricultural environment. This resistance is encoded by the gene mecA that is located on a mosaic, mobile genetic element called the Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec (SCCmec) element. It is proposed that the transfer of the SCCmec element and resulting spread of resistance occur by transduction, the transfer of genetic material from bacterium to bacterium by a bacteriophage. Specifically, it is hypothesized that the transduction of this resistance is occurring in the agricultural setting. To test …


Structural And Functional Interactions Between Bro1 Domain Of Human Alix Protein And Nucleocapsid Packaging Rna Complex From Hiv, Scott Gross May 2015

Structural And Functional Interactions Between Bro1 Domain Of Human Alix Protein And Nucleocapsid Packaging Rna Complex From Hiv, Scott Gross

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

A virus is only as powerful as its ability to spread. Enveloped retroviruses, namely HIV-1, use exocytosis pathways that normal host cells use to release particles from the plasma membrane. The main pathways of interest in this study are the Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Transport (ESCRT) and adjacent ALIX pathways. The ESCRT pathway is especially important for degradation of receptor/cargo complexes that form Multi-Vesicular Bodies (MVBs). Currently, there is no known therapy that targets this endosomal pathway, which would prevent the spread of the virus to other cells. The virus has adapted to jump from pathway to pathway when …


Paleological And Ecological Impacts Of Virus Silicification, James Robert Laidler Feb 2015

Paleological And Ecological Impacts Of Virus Silicification, James Robert Laidler

Dissertations and Theses

Silicification of organisms in silica-depositing environments can impact both their ecology and their presence in the fossil record. Although microbes have been silicified under laboratory and environmental conditions, viruses had not been, prior to this work. Bacteriophage T4 was successfully silicified under laboratory conditions that closely simulated those found in silica-depositing hot springs. Virus morphology was maintained during the short period of silicification (48 hours), and a clear elemental signature of silicon and phosphorus was detected by energy-dispersive X-ray spectrophotometry (EDX). However, the EDX signature of silicified virus was not sufficiently distinct from that of cell membrane or phosphate minerals …