Dr. James Culver Awarded NSF Funding to Study How Viruses Reprogram Phloem Specific Tissues

Dr. James Culver, Professor at the University of Maryland Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) and Department of Plant Sciences and Landscape Architecture, has recently been awarded funding from the National Science Foundation to study how viruses reprogram phloem specific tissues to mediate their long distance transport. In vascular plants, the capacity of a virus to cause disease is often linked to its ability to move throughout host tissues. Dr.Culver’s proposal hypothesizes that the interaction between a Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) replicase protein and a plant encoded, phloem-associated auxin/indole-3-acitic acid (IAA) protein modulates the ability of the virus to spread systemically within the Arabidopsis thaliana plant host. During the three-year funding timeline, Dr. Culver and his lab will employ the developed TMV and Arabidopsis thaliana model system to investigate the molecular aspects of virus-host interactions and disease development. The information gained from this study will enable the development of models that can be used to test and analyze the mechanisms and processes that control phloem-mediated movement of macromolecules.

At UM/IBBR, Dr. Culver has developed a multidisciplinary approach to understanding virus biology and its role in disease. The lab has also developed studies aimed at engineering viruses and other biological components for application in nano-based systems and devices. The long-term goals of the laboratory are to elucidate the complex molecular interactions that occur between viruses and their hosts. Dr. Culver is also committed to undergraduate and graduate training at the University.