Email Address:carlos.catalano@cuanschutz.edu
Primary Phone:303-724-0011
Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Building
12850 East Montview Boulevard
Fourth Floor Room 4118
Aurora, CO 80045
The studies performed in my lab fall into three broad categories that seek to understand the molecular mechanisms of virus development in the complex double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses. The first project centers on the enzymology of terminase, the DNA packaging motor of bacteriophage lambda. This motor is among the most powerful known in biology; it packages the viral genome into a preformed procapsid shell to liquid crystalline density, which ultimately generates over 25 atmospheres of internal pressure. We utilize detailed enzyme kinetic, biochemical, and biophysical approaches to dissect the intimate details of motor structure and function.