Faculty

Replication and assembly of RNA viruses; molecular pathogenesis and evasion of host innate immune systems

      Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a mosquito and aerosol-borne disease that infects a broad range of vertebrates, including humans and common livestock species.  RVF virus infection in humans causes a range of disease from uncomplicated febrile illness to more severe manifestations with high case fatality rates such as hemorrhagic fever and encephalitis. While RVF outbreaks are predictable, there are no interventions available to prevent morbidity and mortality in humans or their livestock. 

      RVF virus belongs to the Bunyaviridae family which is comprised of a diverse collection of segmented negative and ambi-sense RNA viruses, many of which are known human pathogens (e.g. hantaviruses, La Crosse virus and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus).  We have developed technologies for manipulating the genome of RVF and are using these technologies to study how the virus replicates its genome, constructs virions and how it evades the antiviral defenses of the host.  Beyond these basic biological questions, we are using the systems we have developed for more applied goals such as the identification of compounds with antiviral activity and the construction of vaccine strains.

Selected Publications: 

    Gerrard, S.R. and Nichol, S.T.  (2007) Synthesis, proteolytic processing and complex formation of N-terminally nested precursor proteins of the Rift Valley fever virus glycoproteins. Virology. 20;357(2):124-133

    Gerrard, S.R., Bird, B.H., Albariño, C.G., and Nichol, S.T. (2007) The NSm proteins of Rift Valley fever virus are dispensable for maturation, replication and infection. Virology, 359(2):459-65.

    Gerrard, S.R., Li, L., Barrett, A.D., Nichol, S.T. (2004). Ngari virus is a Bunyamwera virus reassortant that can be associated with large outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever in Africa. Journal of Virology., 78(16), 8922-8926.

    Gerrard, S.R., Rollin, P.E. and Nichol, S.T. (2002) Bidirectional infection and release of Rift Valley fever virus in polarized epithelial cells.  Virology, 301: 226-235.

    Gerrard, S.R., Nichol, S.T. (2002). Characterization of the Golgi retention motif of Rift Valley fever virus GN glycoprotein. Journal of Virology, (76)23, 12200-12210.

    Gerrard, S.R., Bryant, N.J., Stevens, T.H. (2000). VPS21 controls entry of endocytosed and biosynthetic proteins into the yeast prevacuolar compartment. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 11, 613-626.

    Gerrard, S.R., Mecklem, A.B., Stevens, T.H. (2000). The yeast endosomal t-SNARE, Pep12p, functions in the absence of its transmembrane domain. Traffic, 1, 45-55.