Institute Seminar - Cryo-EM Structure of the Ebolavirus Virus-like particle (VLP)

Abstract

I will present the cryo-EM structure of the Ebolavirus (EBOV) nucleocapsid, consisting of nucleoprotein (NP), vp24 and vp35. We have recombinantly expressed these structural proteins in mammalian cells together with vp30 and vp40. The VLPs resemble native EBOV while remaining replication-incompetent. This is still unpublished work. A layer of vp24 in two distinct molecular conformations surrounds the NP-RNA complex at the core of the structure. vp24 is linked by fragments of vp35, which connect to vp40 in the outer membrane. Our structure represents the most complete and highest resolution reconstruction of the Ebolavirus virion to date.

Short Bio

Dr. Wolf is a full Professor in Biophysics and Structural Biology at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), where he has been leading the Molecular Cryo-Electron Microscopy Unit since 2012. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School in the lab of Prof. Stephen Harrison, a pioneer in structural virology. Matthias received his PhD in Biophysics from Brandeis University, USA, under Profs. Grigorieff and DeRosier, after a master’s in pharmacy from the University of Innsbruck, Austria. He is a leading expert in single particle cryo-EM, with a focus on virology, microbiology and infectious diseases.