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The research interests of Dr. Stanley Sawicki focus on the molecular biology of gene expression. Currently, he is engaged in determining the viral and host factors that control viral RNA synthesis in cells infected with viruses belonging to Togaviridae and Coronaviridae which are of general interest because they produce disease in a variety of animals, including humans, and can cause persistent, life-long, infections as well as acute viral infections. His long range goal has been to investigate the nature of the molecular mechanism by which these viruses regulate the expression of their genome and modify the host cell's biosynthetic machinery in order to replicate inside the host cell. His recent studies have determined for the first time that the 3' co-terminal, subgenomic messenger RNAs of coronaviruses are produced from subgenomic negative-strand strands rather than from genome-length negative strand templates. These new findings challenge the previously accepted model for coronavirus transcription and indicate that the transcription strategy employed by coronaviruses is unique and a paradigm for a new super family of unusual viruses.
Dr. Sawicki received his Ph.D. in 1974 from Columbia University, New York. He did postdoctoral training at Rockefeller University with Dr. James Darnell, studying the turnover of polyA in eukaryotic mRNA.
Representative publications:
Gorchakov, R., Frolova, E., Sawicki, S., Atasheva, S., Sawicki, D., and Frolov, I. (2008) A new role of ns polyprotein cleavage in Sindbis virus replication. J. Virology, Apr 16. [Epub ahead of print].
Sawicki, S.G., Sawicki, D.L., Siddell, S.G. (2007) A contemporary view of coronavirus transcription. J Virol. 81(1): 20-29. Epub 2006 Aug 23.
Watanabe, R., Stanley, S.G., and Taguchi, F. (2007) Heparan sulfate is a binding molecule but not a receptor for CEACAM1-independent infection of murine coronavirus. Virol. Sep 15;366(1):16-22.
Sawicki, S.G., Sawicki, D.L., and Siddell, S.G. (2007) A contemporary view of coronavirus transcription. J Virol. In Press.
Sawicki, S.G., Sawicki, D.L., Younker, D., Meyer, Y., Thiel, V., Stokes, H., and Siddell, S.G. (2006) Functional and genetic analysis of coronavirus replicase-transcriptase proteins. PLoS Pathog. 2005 Dec;1(4):e39. Epub 2005 Dec 9. Review.Erratum in: PLoS Pathog. Feb;2(2):e17
Sawicki, D.L., Perri, S, Polo, J.M., and Sawicki, S.G. 2006 Role for nsP2 proteins in the cessation of alphavirus minus strand synthesis by host cells. J. Virol. 80:360-371.
Coley, S.E. Lavi, E., Sawicki, S.G., Fu, L., Schelle, B., Karl, N., Siddell, S.G., and Thiel, V. (2005) Recombinant mouse hepatitis virus strain A59 from cloned, full-length cDNA replicates to high titers in vitro and is fully pathogenic in vivo. J. Virol. 79:3097-3106.
Sawicki, S.G., and Sawicki, D.L. (2005) Coronavirus transcription: a perspective. Curr. Top. Microbiol. Immunol. 287:31-55.
Coley, S.E., Lavi, E., Sawicki, S.G., Fu, L., Schelle, B., Karl, N., Siddell, S.G., and Thiel, V. (2005) Recombinant mouse hepatitis virus strain A59 from cloned, full-length cDNA replicates to high titers in vitro and is fully pathogenic in vivo. J. Virol. 79(5): 3097-3106.
Schickli, J.H., Thackray, L.B., Sawicki, S.G., Holmes, K.V. (2004) The N-terminal region of the murine coronavirus spike glycoprotein is associated with the extended host range of viruses from persistently infected murine cells. J. Virol. 78:9073-9083.
Dé, I., Fata, C.L., Sawicki, S.G., and Sawicki, D.L. (2003) Functional analysis of nsP3 phosphoprotein mutants. J. Virol. 77(24):13106-16.
Sawicki, D.L., Silverman, R.H., Williams, B.R., Sawicki, S.G. (2003) Alphavirus minus-strand synthesis and persistence in mouse embryo fibroblasts derived from mice lacking RNase L and protein kinase R. J. Virol. 77: 1801-1811.
Fata, C.L., Sawicki, S.G., Sawicki, D.L. (2002) Modification of Asn374 of nsP1 suppresses a Sindbis virus nsP4 minus-strand polymerase mutant. J. Virol. 76: 8641-8649.
Fata, C.L., Sawicki, S.G., Sawicki, D.L. (2002) Alphavirus minus-strand RNA synthesis: identification of a role for Arg183 of the nsP4 polymerase. J. Virol. 76: 8632-8640.
Sawicki, D., Wang, T., Sawicki S. (2001) The RNA structures engaged in replication and transcription of the A59 strain of mouse hepatitis virus. J. Gen. Virol. 82: 385-396. |
