| This dissertation project investigated the mechanism by which coronavirus replication complexes form. Biochemical, genetic and cell imaging assays were used to determine the viral components of the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) replication complex and to determine if coronaviruses utilized cellular autophagy to form replication complexes. This research has identified autophagy as a mechanism of replication complex formation that is likely common to all coronaviruses and has provided an important foundation for future studies of SARS-CoV replication. The results presented in this research have greatly increased our understanding of how coronaviruses replicate and have provided new lines of investigation to understand how these viruses interact with and modify the host cell. |
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