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Prof.
John Ziebuhr is acknowledged as an expert in coronavirus enzymology. He
has studied coronavirus replicative enzymes at the University of Würzburg
for about 15 years. In January 2006, his group will move to laboratories at
the School of Biomedical Sciences (Center for Cancer Research
and Cell Biology) at the Queen's University in Belfast. His research has made important
contributions to the elucidation of coronavirus replicase processing
pathways and the characterization of the enzymatic properties of
coronavirus proteases. Furthermore, his work on coronavirus proteases
contributed to the determination and interpretation of crystal structures
of coronavirus main proteases and the structure of a complex of
transmissible gastroenteritis (corona)virus main protease with a peptidyl
chloromethyl ketone inhibitor. This structure information is now used in
several collaborations to develop coronavirus-specific protease inhibitors
by rational drug design. Professor Ziebuhr's laboratory also has broad
expertise in the heterologous expression and characterization of enzymes
involved in nidovirus RNA metabolism. The present work of the group focuses
mainly on coronavirus RNA-processing enzymes (helicases, ribonucleases,
nucleotide phosphatases, and others) of human coronaviruses (HCoV-229E,
SARS-CoV, HCoV-NL63) using biochemical and reverse-genetics approaches.
Over the years, Professor Ziebuhr coordinated numerous research projects
and his work has led to publications in excellent peer-reviewed journals
(e.g., EMBO J., J. Biol. Chem., Science, PNAS, RNA, J. Virol., J. Mol.
Biol., PLoS Biology).
Selected
publications of partner 6:
- Ivanov, K. A., Hertzig,
T., Rozanov, M., Bayer, S., Thiel, V., Gorbalenya, A. E., and Ziebuhr,
J. 2004. Major genetic marker of nidoviruses encodes a replicative
endoribonuclease. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101:12694-12699.
- Ivanov,
K. A., Thiel, V., Dobbe, J. C., van der Meer, Y., Snijder, E. J., and
Ziebuhr, J. 2004. Multiple enzymatic activities associated with severe acute respiratory
syndrome coronavirus helicase. J. Virol. 78:5619-5632.
- Putics, A., Filipowicz,
W., Hall, J., Gorbalenya, A. E., and Ziebuhr, J. 2005.
ADP-ribose-1"-monophosphatase: a conserved coronavirus enzyme
that is dispensable for viral replication in tissue culture. J. Virol.
79:12721-12731.
- Thiel, V., Ivanov, K. A.,
Putics, A., Hertzig, T., Schelle, B., Bayer, S., Weissbrich, B.,
Snijder, E. J., Rabenau, H., Doerr, H. W., Gorbalenya, A. E., and
Ziebuhr, J. 2003. Mechanisms and enzymes involved in SARS coronavirus
genome expression. J. Gen. Virol. 84:2305-2315.
- Ziebuhr, J. 2004.
Molecular biology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus.
Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 7:412-419.
Prof.
John Ziebuhr
j.ziebuhr@qub.ac.uk
Dr. Ekaterina Minskaia
Rachel Ulferts
Tobias Hertzig
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