Date of Thesis

2016

Description

The Deformed Wing Virus is one contributing factor to Colony Collapse Disorder in honey bee populations. It is transmitted through infestation of the ectoparasitic mite Varroa Destructor and results in deformed wings and abdominal abnormalities in infected honey bees. This project aimed to purify the three structural proteins of the Deformed Wing Virus capsid in order to learn more about capsid protein binding interactions. The capsid protein coding sequences were fused to the maltose-binding protein in the pET27b expression plasmid and fusion protein expression was induced in E. coli. Cloning into the expression vectors was successful for the VP2 and VP3 constructs, but not for VP1. Full-length VP2 and VP3 fusion proteins were expressed, however the fusion proteins exhibited high insolubility when purified via affinity- chromatography.

Keywords

deformed wing virus, MBP fusion protein, capsid proteins

Access Type

Honors Thesis (Bucknell Access Only)

Degree Type

Bachelor of Science

Major

Cell Biology/Biochemistry

First Advisor

Marie Pizzorno

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