Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
viral genome is packaged swiftly and processively (~140 bp/s at
25
C) into the viral prohead to a concentration characteristic of DNA
crystals (~500 mg/ml) during maturation.
45-47
Many biological processes involve multiple components in multi-
step reactions. Progress in the quantitative analysis of these systems
has been hampered by a lack of viable methods. It would therefore
be desirable to have a reliable method to determine the stoichiome-
try of the substrates or enzymes that actively participate in interme-
diate reactions. Although the exact concentrations of the substrates
and products of intermediate reactions are difficult to determine, rel-
ative parameters, such as dilution factors, percentage of mutants, and
probability, as well as shapes and slopes of dilution curves, can be
more accurately determined. A variety of biological systems and
molecular processes have been successfully analyzed by mathematical
methods.
48-54
Most viral assembly processes involve single-assembly path-
ways.
2,4,5,55
The applications of mathematical approaches to determine
the stoichiometry of viral structural components are relatively simple
and reliable. With careful assessment of the substrate concentration of
the structural components, the approaches would be applicable to
both
in vitro
and
in vivo
assembly systems. For
in vitro
assembly, the
determination of substrate concentration is very straightforward. For
in vivo
studies, the concentration of the structural components can be
manipulated by controlling the strength of the promoter and can be
determined by SDS gels, proteomics, or other available quantitative
approaches.
°
Stoichiometry Quantification to Facilitate the
Application of Viral Materials in Nanoscience
and Nanotechnology
The emergent field of nanotechnology generally involves the charac-
terization, manipulation, modification, and/or assembly of organized
materials on the nanoscale level,
56,57
thereby helping to form
supramolecular structures.
58-60
These materials can then be used as
building blocks for the construction of larger devices and systems.
