The Dynamics of Liquid Organelle Re-modelling in Response to Virus Infection

Liquid organelles are membrane-less compartments that provide an environment for different cellular processes. As such, they can be hijacked by viruses to enable virus replication. Arenaviruses are simple viruses that express only 4 proteins and form a type of liquid organelle (termed stress granule) during infection. Additionally, they are medically relevant viruses, as some cause haemorrhagic fevers (like Lassa virus). This project aims to understand how liquid organelles are formed, which is an emerging and poorly understood topic, by studying arenavirus-induced stress granule formation. To achieve this, the project will first determine the composition of Arenavirus-induced stress granules, comparing it to stress granules from non-infected cells. It will establish an in vitro stress-granule system, which will be manipulated by adding viral components (proteins and RNA) and/or by changing the ionic conditions (reflecting physiological changes occurring during infection). Overall, the project will allow an understanding of this essential viral process, providing possible targets for future therapeutics.