Here's a belated THANK YOU! to the folk who made Virology Africa 2015 such a success - you lot! #viraf15

#viraf15 The end! Ably chaired by the inimitable Inga.

#viraf15 Peyret: and he ends on a low note...B-)

#viraf15 Peyret: get mutant RNA2 encapsidated as well. Will insert GOI next time - and identify minimal UTRs and size limit.

#viraf15 Peyret: Make a truncated non-func RNA2 with UTRs intact, test replication with coexp RNA1 - works, even in presence wtRNA2!

#viraf15 Peyret: only get encapsidation of replicating RNA - so can potentially package RNA of choice!

#viraf15 Peyret: Make VLPs using leaf co-agroinfiltration of VP60 and protease - can test encapsidation models.

#viraf15 Hadrien Peyret. Not quite an Englishman, even if he sounds like one B-) Closing us out with CPMV!

#viraf15 Wen: can get higher levels linear aggregation CPMV particles but purifying them a problem.

#viraf15 Wen: Engineering CPMV for asymmetric labelling for dimer/multimer formation. Dimer uptake by HeLa cells enhanced cf monomers

#viraf15 Amy Wen: nanostructures for nanomedicine! Plant virus-based, bioegradable, high yielding - and organic B-)

#viraf15 vZyl: Also knocked out a gene - csaB - involved in phage adsorption in production bacteria, showed complete immunity.

#viraf15 van Zyl: GVE3 is a lysogen; IDed gene that might control lysogeny by homology, put into bacteria & showed immunity.

#viraf15 van Zyl: pulled a siphophage from a failed fermentation, sequenced it - infects a thermophile unlike rels.

#viraf15 Lonnie van Zyl. Engineering resistance to a phage that infects industrial fermentation bacteria!

#viraf15 Schafer: does vimentin sequester HPV PsVs and mask their binding to "real" receptor? As it inhibits internalisation.

#viraf15 Schafer: IDed vimentin via pull-down assay with furin-treated HPV16 PsVs and PsVs colocalise on cells

#viraf15 Georgia Schafer. Cell surface vimentin involvement in HPV16 infection.

#viraf15 Bekker: could convert VP7 to being soluble by targetted mutation - and interacts much better with VP3 to make CLPs.

#viraf15 Bekker: AWESOME microscopy...! Compare BTV to AHSV VP7 to see where diffs in seq that could affect assembly

#viraf15 Bekker: AHSV VP7 crystallises, unlike BTV VP7 - is this why virus is more pathogenic / does it affect virion assembly?

#viraf15 Shani Bekker on African horsesickness virus.

#viraf15 Suliman: so yes, 3a does play a role in replication, know residues D199 and H204 involved. Another good end

#viraf15 Suliman: deletion/siRNA knockdown of 3a both affect ORF 3b as well, so made mutations and showed reduced replication in vitro

#viraf15 Tasnim Suliman: SARS-CoV 3a protein effect on replication. A well-conserved accessory protein.

#viraf15 I like people who end with cool slides B-)

#viraf15 Olonade: 9 NGS contigs from desert soil showed similarity Salinivibrio phage - went back to sample, infected bacteria and got phage

#viraf15 Israel Olonade. Metaviromic tools to guide novel phage isolation.

#viraf15 Maree: found novel viruses, novel variants, sequenced new variant complete sequence...a new age for vitiviruses!

#viraf15 Maree: dsRNA extraction and sequencing red and white grape varieties. 10 viruses found, GLRaV-3 in all samples, others spotty