Research Projects

Genome packaging is a crucial step in viral maturation, with three different mechanisms proposed: Type I, Type II, and III. Type I involves co-condensation of nucleic acid with viral capsid proteins, leading to the assembly of virion particles without ATP. Type II and III are ATP dependent active packaging systems, operating in viruses larger than 20kb. However, little is known about the mechanism of genome packaging in smaller plant viruses. Studies suggest that there is simply a nucleation of capsid proteins around the nucleic acid, resulting in genome encapsidation in an ATP-independent fashion. discoveries have changed the perception of type I packaging systems and proposed an extended sub-classification system. The molecular machinery that carries out the complex operation of genome encapsidation in plant viruses with remarkable fidelity remain to be discovered and understood. To delineate the mechanism of genome packaging and translocation in small plant viruses, objectives were designed, considering potato virus X as a prototype. Type I packaging systems, such as potexvirus, potyvirus, and geminivirus, are detrimental to various crops and cause significant agro-economical losses worldwide. To develop a strategy to target the virus assembly process by mutating the ATPase domain of capsid proteins, further research is needed.