[Abstract]  [Full Text]  [PDF]

Matthew P. Badtke¹, Feng Cao¹ and John E. Tavis^2*

¹ Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine. St. Louis, MO 63104. USA.
² Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and Saint Louis University Liver Center, Saint Louis University School of Medicine. St. Louis, MO 63104. USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed: John E. Tavis, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. 1402 S. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63104. USA. Phone: 615-322-8644. Fax: 615-322-8397. Email: tavisje@slu.edu

Biol. Proced. Online 2006;8:77-86. doi:10.1251/bpo121
Submitted: May 02, 2006; Accepted: July 19, 2006; Published: August 10, 2006.

Indexing terms: Hepatitis B Virus, Duck; Protein Interaction Mapping.

Protein-protein interactions are required for many viral and cellular functions and are potential targets for novel therapies. Here we detail a series of genetic and biochemical techniques used in combination to find an essential molecular contact point on the duck hepatitis B virus polymerase. These techniques include differential immunoprecipitation, mutagenesis and peptide competition. The strength of these techniques is their ability to identify contact points on intact proteins or protein complexes employing functional assays. This approach can be used to aid identification of putative binding sites on proteins and protein complexes which are resistant to characterization by other methods.