Parker Sperstad

My work in the Holmstrom has been focused on 3′X, which is a 98-nucleotide long sequence found at the 3′ terminus of the hepatitis C virus’ RNA genome. This noncoding RNA sequence has been shown to be essential for the proliferation of the virus and appears to regulate several processes throughout viral replication. Our previous work has employed single-molecule Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) to study the first 55 nucleotides, which can adopt two distinct conformations in isolation as well as dimerize. Having established how this truncated form of 3′X responds to environmental conditions (i.e., solution conditions and RNA concentration), we have begun investigating how the full 98-nucleotide long sequence of 3′X impacts its conformation distribution and dimerization process. Additionally, our group has begun studying other portions of the HCV genome and how they interact with 3′X, modulating its regulatory roles.