Ryan Cho

Institution: 
UC Santa Barbara
Major: 
Microbiology
Year: 
2020

Investigation of the Mechanism by which the Host Protein WDR5 is Targeted to the Viral Replication Factory

The Measles virus is a negative-sense strand RNA virus that continues to cause a significant amount of worldwide deaths each year. Much can be learned today from the Measles virus by studying its novel virus-host interactions that share common motifs amongst other related RNA viruses in the hopes of developing more effective antiviral treatments. The virus-host interaction being interrogated is that of Measles virus’s ability to hijack the host epigenetic protein, WDR5, and recruit it to viral membraneless organelles called inclusion bodies where much of viral protein production and replication is thought to occur. The recruitment of WDR5 to these viral inclusion bodies has been proven integral to viral replication success, making this mechanism a promising pathway to target. This project will attempt to elude the motif on WDR5 that is responsible for its targeting to Measle virus inclusion bodies in order to shed light on this mode of virus-host interaction and provide possible target pathways for future development of antiviral therapeutics.

 

UC Santa Barbara Center for Science and Engineering Partnerships UCSB California NanoSystems Institute UC Santa Barbara’s Parents Fund Campaign for UC Santa Barbara