EAPSI: Measuring Differential Gene Expression in Viruses from Hot Spring Environments

Iverson Eric, Portland OR

Investigators

Abstract

Hot spring environments such as Yellow Stone National Park harbor a tremendous amount of microbial and viral diversity from the eukaryotic, bacterial and archaeal domains of life. The ability of some organisms to not only survive but thrive in these extreme conditions is remarkable and may prove to be a window into the origins of life on Earth and other planets. Archaeal microbes from the genus Sulfolobus are commonly found in hot springs worldwide and are routinely found to be infected by spindle-shaped viruses (SSVs). Archaeal viruses, like the SSVs, are poorly understood compared to their eukaryotic and bacterial counterparts. What is occurring throughout the course of infection by the SSVs is not completely understood. This research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Li Huang at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Microbiology located in Beijing. Dr. Huang has worked with Sulfolobus and its viruses for many years and is an expert in the techniques needed in this research. Gene expression in very few hyperthermophilic archaeal viruses has been examined and almost none have been examined during synchronous virus infection. Viral and host gene expression will be measured in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus upon infection with the virus SSV1 and mutants of SSV1 at a high multiplicity of infection (MOI > 5) using cDNA microarrays. No data regarding viral or host gene expression upon infection with SSV1 or mutants of SSV1 has been published. The results of this research will provide insights into a general host response to viral infections within the Archaea and will also reveal conserved or strain-specific transcription patterns in the Fuselloviridae. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.