Breadcrumb
Phase transitions in Bacteriophage T4
Supervisor: Isaac Chenchiah
Theme: Materials Science
(With Valeriy Slastikov)
Bacteriophage T4 is a virus that attacks bacteria by a fascinating mechanism which involves a phase transition in its tail sheath. The structure of this tail sheath and the mechanics of the phase transition are both important examples of wider themes that arise in the study of molecular biological systems such as DNA and viruses.
The structure of the tail sheath is very well understood. The goal of this PhD project will be to use this as a starting point to rigourously deduce its dynamic behaviour, including a description of the phase transition.
References:
Animation at <http://www.seyet.com/bacteriophage-t4>.
Wayne Falk, W. and James, R. D.: Elasticity theory for self-assembled protein lattices with application to the martensitic phase transition in bacteriophage T4 tail sheath, Physical Review E 73, 011917 (2006)