Dr. Gottlieb's research group is studying and characterizing bacteriophage f12, one of the newly identified members of the family Cystoviridae.These viruses contain a genome consisting of three segments of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Their mechanism of RNA packaging, replication and transcription is similar to that of the Reoviridae of which one member, rotavirus, is a major cause of infant gastroenteritis. To date, the cystoviruses are the only segmented dsRNA viruses that can be manipulated by recombinant genetic techniques, making them an excellent model for the study of the molecular biology of viruses of this type.

The laboratory has cloned and sequenced the three genomic segments and identified the viral genes. This analysis has better defined the evolutionary relationships among the members of this virus family. The genes of the virus have been expressed from the cDNA copies of the genome in E. coli and the viral proteins are now being studied, in particular the viral RNA-directed RNA polymerase P2. This study contributes to the understanding of the mechanism of viral RNA packaging and replication.

In a collaborative study with Dr. Spatz, the research group is investigating the role of the Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) in the etiology of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). This research project focuses on characterizing the anti-double stranded DNA (dsDNA) response in mice that express the viral Epstein Barr Nuclear Antigen-1 (EBNA-1). The expression of this antigen in animals has been achieved through the use of DNA-based vaccination of recombinant plasmids. The establishment of this in vivo model enabled us to demonstrate that the inoculated mice produced antibodies to autoantigens associated with SLE.

Ph.D., 1984, City University of New York, Hunter College

B.S., 1974, State University of New York at Stony Brook

Viral etiology of systemic lupus erythematosus and Epstein-Barr virus.

Assembly & replicative mechanisms of a model reorvirus with relevance to infant gastroenteritis.

Eryilmaz E, Benach J, Su M, Seetharaman J, Dutta K, Wei H, Gottlieb P, Hunt JF, Ghose R. (2008) Structure and Dynamics of the P7 Protein from the Bacteriophage 12. J Mol. Biol 382(2) 402-422.

Guobin H., Wei,H., Rice,B., Stokes,D.,, and Gottlieb,P. (2008) Structure of cystovirus f12 determined by electron cryo-tomography. Virology 372(1):1-9.

Lisal, J., Kainov, D.E., TuKiet, T.T., Emmett, M.R., Wei, H., Gottlieb, P., Marshall, A.G., and Tuma, R. (2006). Structural basis of molecular motor regulation in a viral capsid. Virology351: 73-79.

Alimova, A. Katz, P. Gottlieb, and R. R. Alfano, "Proteins and Dipicolinic Acid Released During Heat Shock Activation of Bacillus subtilis Spores Probed by Optical Spectoscopy," Applied Optics 45 (3): 445-450.

Katz, A., Alimova, A., Xu, M., Gottlieb, P., Rudolph, E., Steiner, J.C., and Alfano, R.R. (2005). In situ Determination of Refractive Index and Size of Bacillus Spores by Light Transmission. Optics Letters 30 (6), 589-591.

Alimova, A., Katz , A., Podder, R., Minko, G., Wei, H., Berriman, J., Alfano, R.R., and Gottlieb, P. (2005). Virus Particles and Receptor Interaction Monitored by Fluorescence Spectroscopy. Photochem. Photobiol 81(4), 879-883 (2005).

Sundar, K., Jacques, S., Gottlieb, P., Villars, R., Benito, M-E., Taylor, D.K., and Spatz, L.A. (2004). Expression of the Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigen-1 (EBNA-1) in the mouse can elicit the production of anti-dsDNA and anti-Sm antibodies. J. Autoimmunity 23, 127-140.

Alimova, A., Katz, A., Podder, R., Minko, G., Wei, H., Alfano, R.R., and Gottlieb, P. (2004). Virus particles monitored by fluorescence spectroscopy: a potential detection assay for macromolecular assembly. Photochem. Photobiol. 80, 41-46.

Kainov, D.E., Simonov, V., Bamford, D.H., Tuma, R., Gottlieb, P., Wei. H., Walsh, M.A., Belrhali, H., and Merckel.M.C. (2004). Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of bacteriophage f12 packaging factor P7. Acta Crystallographica Section D, Biological Crystallography 60, 2368-2370.

Mancini, E., Kainov, D.E., Wei, H., Gottlieb, P., Tuma, R., Bamford, D.H., Stuart, D.I., and Grimes, J.E. (2004). Production, crystallization, and preliminary X-ray cystallographic studies on the bacteriophage f12 packaging motor. Acta Crystallographica Section D, Biological Crystallography 60 (Pt 3), 588-590.

Yang, H., Gottlieb, P., Wei, H., Bamford, D., and Makeyev, E.V. (2003). Temperature requirements for the inititiation of RNA-dependent RNA polymerization. Virology 314: 706-715.

Gottlieb, P., Potgieter, C., Wei, H., and Toporovsky, I. (2002b). Characterization of f12, a bacteriophage related to f6: nucleotide sequence of the large double-stranded RNA. Virology 295, 266-271.

Gottlieb, P., Wei, H., Potgieter, C., and Toporovsky, I. (2002a). Characterization of f12, a Bacteriophage Related to f6: Nucleotide Sequence of the Small and Middle (dsRNA). Virology, 293 (1):118-124.