BBSRC-funded studentship: Identification of host factors which restrict African swine fever virus replication

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

The aims of the project are to understand at the molecular level the host factors which restrict efficient ASFV replication and to use this information to generate cell lines which are permissive for virus replication which could be used for growing vaccine strains. The hypothesis is that mature macrophages express cell surface and/or intracellular factors which are required for efficient replication of African swine fever virus (ASFV) and that cells non-permissive for infection do not express these. We will use microarrays to identify genes expressed in permissive compared to non-permissive cells. siRNAs will be used to knock down expression of these genes in permissive cells and the effect on virus replication analysed. Those genes identified as potentially required for replication will be stably transfected into non-permissive cell lines and virus replication tested. This general approach could be used for other pathogens.

unavailable