Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 159-170).

Thesis (M.S.) in Biochemistry--University of Maine, 2006. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-74).

No description available.

The complete genome of snakehead rhabdovirus (SHRV) was cloned and molecularly characterized. This was initially accomplished through the sequence determination of its glycoprotein gene and the phylogenetic analysis of this gene with orthologous genes from other rhabdoviruses. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that SHRV groups with viruses of the genus Novirhabdovirus. The full-length glycoprotein was expressed in mammalian cells to investigate its potential use in the production of pseudotyped retroviruses. The sequence of the entire SHRV genome of 11.6 kb was determined, and all encoded proteins, intergenic transcriptional control motifs, and the leader and trailer regions were identified. The genome was found to encode six proteins including a nucleoprotein, a phosphoprotein, a matrix protein, a glycoprotein, a small--presumably non-virion--protein, and a polymerase protein. The presence of a non-virion protein, which is the hallmark feature of all Novirhabdoviruses, supported SHRV's identity as a member of the Novirhabdovirus genus, despite the fact that the non-virion protein showed no homology with any known protein. A system was developed to express a full-length, error-free positive-strand copy of SHRV's RNA genome along with all of the SHRV proteins required for viral replication within the cytoplasm of a virus-susceptible host cell. These factors collectively allowed the recovery of live virus entirely from cloned cDNAs. A unique restriction site was engineered into SHRV's cDNA genome, and the presence of this restriction site was verified following virus recovery, proving the recovered virus was indeed a live recombinant virus. To our knowledge this achievement marks the first time in which reverse genetics has been performed on a nonmammalian negative-stranded RNA virus. / Graduation date: 1999

Graduation date: 1995

Graduation date: 1992

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1991. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [47]-56).

Thesis (M.S.) in Microbiology--University of Maine, 2009. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-87).

No description available.

Two previously uncharacterized plant rhabdoviruses, infecting Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers) and soybean (Glycine max) respectively, have been found in South Africa. To determine the morphology and virion size of these viruses, embedded ultra-thin sections of infected plant samples were observed under a transmission electron microscope. The virion distribution within the cell, the bulletshaped morphology and the virion sizes indicated that both these viruses might belong to the Rhabdoviridae family. Degenerate polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers were designed by alignment of the polymerase gene sequences of several plant rhabdoviruses in order to identify conserved regions. Standard PCR and sequencing protocols were used to determine a partial polymerase gene sequence of the viruses that was then compared to the most closely related sequences available on Genbank. The analysis indicated that the Cynodon rhabdovirus was most closely related to known nucleorhabdoviruses; and the rhabdovirus-infecting soybean (Soybean blotching mosaic virus proposed name) was closely related to other known cytorhabdoviruses. These results indicate that both the viruses are new members to the Nucleo- and Cytorhabdovirus genera, respectively. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Microbiology and Plant Pathology / unrestricted