U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Molecular Plant Pathology Laboratory: Beltsville, MD
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    Databases
                        Alfalfa Transcription Factor Database
                                    iPhyClassifier - Phytoplasma Sequence ClassificationSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Northeast Area Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Molecular Plant Pathology Laboratory People Rosemarie Hammond





- Find a person
- Find a location
- ARS Organizational Chart
- People
- Con Baker
- Wei Wei
- Rosemarie Hammond
- Robert Davis
- John Hartung
- Ing Ming Lee
- Lev Nemchinov
- Anna Smigocki
- Yan Zhao
- Hammond Main Page
- Natilla Main Page
- Cucumber Mosaic Virus-VLPs epitope
- Maize Rayado Fino Virus-VLPs and peptide crosslinking
- Virus-like Particle as Chemical Bioconjugation Substrates
- RNA packaging of Virus-like particles
- Showcasing plant viral nanotechnology techniques
- Publications

Natilla_researchheadline bar 
 
 Dr. Angela Natilla(Postdoctoral Research Associate)Molecular Plant Pathology Research Molecular Biologist angela.natilla@ars.usda.govPhone: (301) 504-5099- ext 268  Fax: (301) 504-5449 Bldg 004,Room 017 BARC-WEST 10300 BALTIMORE AVENUE BELTSVILLE, MD, 20705
 Research Highlights: *Cucumber mosaic virus*-VLPs epitope presentation systems for *Newcastle Disease Virus* (NDV) and *Avian Influenza virus*(AIV)*Maize Rayado Fino Virus*-VLPs and peptide crosslinking on the viral surfaceVirus Like Particle as chemical bioconjugation substratesRNA packaging of Virus-like particlesShowcasing plant viral nanotechnology techniques Research focus: Among our research interests is the useVirus-like-particles (VLPs) technologyto design plant virus platformsfor a new-generation of vaccines against prevalent and emergent animal diseases, production of biomaterials, chemical tools and diagnostics.Plant - VLPs are self-assembled structures derived from plant viral coat proteins that mimic the native architecture of the viruses but lack the viral genome. The VLPs are not able to reproduce as the viruses themselves, but can carry cellular RNAs.Plant viruses possess uniqueness to self?assemble in vitroand in vivo into VLPs with nanoscale dimensions and range of properties. These attributes include particulate shape and structure, specificity of symmetry, polyvalence as well as stability of properties under different ranges of temperature and pH.  This versatility of the plant viruses allows their wide potential use as nanomaterials and, not surprisingly, the new viral nanotechnology field holds significant promise in agriculture and plant virology.  In exploiting the spectrum of plant virus properties, we utilize a variety of protocols and strategies to modify a range of plant viruses to assume new functions.We also employ a range of techniques including genetic engineering and bio-conjugation reactions when incorporating foreign molecules on the surface of VLPs.  Diagram A                                                        Diagram B     The genetic modification of the viral genome consists of insertion of the foreign sequence into the plant virus coat protein gene, and production of chimeric VLPs which carry the foreign peptide on the viral surface (A).Bio-conjugation chemistries allow the conjugation of ligands (peptides) through cross-linking reactionsto the reactive groups present on theexterior viral surface of VLPs (B).


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov