Fluorescence microscopy enables members of Prof. Brett Neilan's group to acquire revealing qualitative data of community structure in environmental samples.
Hepatitis C Virus Replication and Evolution
In Australia 200,000 people are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and 11,000 new cases are reported each year. The majority (~70%) of all infections become persistent and can lead to liver failure, liver cancer and death.
HCV has a positive sense RNA genome that exhibits an error-prone replication process. Using our established methodology, we have produced highly purified, soluble and active recombinant HCV polymerases. Current projects are available to study HCV sequence evolution in infected patients. By cloning and expressing patients’ HCV polymerases, we can relate sequence changes to polymerase transcriptional activity and fidelity.
BABS personnel that are responsible for this project