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In the beginning was Genetics, the understanding of how phenotype was passed from one generation to the next. The term Reverse Genetics was coined when people began to clone individual genes and sought understanding of the molecular underpinning of the phenotypes found in nature. Reverse Genetics of viruses has come to mean systems in which a manipulable copy of the viral genome can be used to generate new viruses. Great strides have been made in our understanding of viruses using these techniques, and many new ways of using them have been found. This meeting will bring together several of the leading scientists using these techniques to present their latest work, with particular emphasis on the negative strand RNA viruses. Dr Michael Baron, Morbillivirus-Host Interactions Institute for Animal Health Ash Road, Pirbright, Surrey - Meeting Chair
9:15 – 9:45 Registration – Tea, coffee and biscuits
9:45 - 10:00 Introduction by the Chair
10:00 - 10:30 Reverse genetics of pneumoviruses
Professor Andrew Easton - University of Warwick
I
will describe the reverse genetics systems for pneumoviruses,
indicating specific unique characteristics. I will then present
experimental data using the system to understand specific aspects of
pneumovirus replication.
10:30 – 11:00 The development and application of flavivirus reverse genetic systems
Dr Andrew Davison - University of Bristol
The
talk will first describe the development of reverse genetic systems for
flaviviruses outlining the approaches used to overcome technical
hurdles. The application of reverse genetics to flavivirus pathogenesis
and replication will be discussed with an emphasis on dengue virus. The
use of reverse genetics to produce novel flavivirus vaccines will be
described.
11:00 – 11:30 Morning tea/coffee
11:30 – 12:00 Recombinant Sendai virus as gene transfer agent
Dr Uta Griesenbach - Imperial College London
Reverse
genetics has enabled production of recombinant Sendai viral vectors
(SeV) for gene therapy and vaccination. SeV utilises cholesterol and
sialic acid residues for cell entry. These are present on most cell
types and, therefore, SeV is an efficient gene transfer agent in most
tissues. Importantly, SeV is a cytoplasmic RNA virus and does not enter
the nucleus.
12:00 – 12:30 Preparing for the inevitable – pandemic influenza
Dr James Robertson - National Institute for Biological Standards and Control
Reverse
genetics technology is being used to investigate novel types of
influenza vaccine and can be applied to generate candidate vaccine
strains on an efficient and rational basis. The rapidity and
robustness of the method allowed us to generate a non-pathogenic
vaccine strain against a human H5N1 (avian) flu virus within three
weeks of receipt of the wild type pathogenic virus. This was also
achieved using a quality system to assure the suitability of the strain
for use in vaccine manufacture and this virus is now being used
world-wide for the manufacture and clinical trials of a human H5
vaccine.
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch
13:30 – 14:00 Manipulation of virus genomes to elucidate the pathogenesis of respiratory
syncytial viruses
Dr Geraldine Taylor - Institute for Animal Health
14:00 - 14:30 Rational attenuation of a morbillivirus
Dr Paul Duprex - The Queen’s University of Belfast
I
will introduce morbilliviruses; describe what we know of their
life-cycle and focus on some of the diseases they cause. This will
serve as a foundation to explain how we generate and characterise
recombinant viruses using reverse genetics approaches. I will then
focus on a recent study in which we have used reverse genetics to
attenuate a morbillivirus. To conclude I will discuss how these
studies may have an impact on the rationale design of vaccines in
general.
14:30 – 15.00 Afternoon Tea/Coffee and cakes
15:00 – 16:00 TBA Obaseki I. Theophilus, Medical Microbiology, Ambrose Alli University Ekpome
16:00 – 16:30 TBA
16:30 Close
