Thesis title: "Influence of internal genome pressure for viral particle infectivity and stability"
Defense date: April 2015
Research interests:
Genome packaging during virus replication is an ATP-dependent process, resulting in a thermodynamically unstable state of packaged viral DNA. This energetically unfavorable confinement of the microns-long DNA molecule creates a large internal pressure inside the virus. The effects of tight genome confinement has previously been studied for multiple bacterial viruses. Recently, using a novel experimental assay, we have provided the first measurement of this DNA pressure within a eukaryotic herpesvirus, HSV-1. Dave's project focused on calorimetric investigations of internal pressure for specific viral systems, as well as comparative studies between evolutionarily diverse viruses. This experimental approach can uncover general physical properties of viruses that regulate viral infectivity.
Prior education:
B.S. Biology; B.S. Physics, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ
Current location:
Research Scientist at Cybergenetics in Pittsburgh, PA
PhD Advisor: Dr Alex Evilevitch
Publications:
- D. W. Bauer, A. Evilevitch. Influence of internal DNA pressure on stability and infectivity of phage lambda. Journal of Molecular Biology. 427 (20), 3189–3200 (2015)
- D. W. Bauer, D. Li, J. Huffman, Fred Homa, K. Wilson, J. Leavitt, S. Casjens, J. Baines, A. Evilevitch. Exploring the balance between DNA pressure and capsid stability in Herpesviruses and phages. Journal of Virology. 89 (18), 9288–9298 (2015)
- D. W. Bauer, J. B. Huffman, F. L. Homa, A. Evilevitch. (2013) Herpes Virus Genome, The Pressure Is On. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 135, 11216-21
