Jason Heming Email: jdh37@pitt.edu Lab: Homa Lab: During herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) replication the double-stranded viral DNA genome is replicated as a concatemer which is cleaved into unit-length genomes that are packaged into preformed protein capsids. Seven viral genes have been identified that are essential for this process of DNA cleavage/packaging. Of these UL15, UL33, and UL28 are thought to compose the viral terminase complex which is believed to scan the viral DNA for genomic ends, cleave the DNA concatemer into single genomes, and bind the procapsid at the portal vertex where it drives the genome into capsids through an ATP-dependent mechanism. My project focuses on further elucidating the role of UL28 in HSV-1 DNA cleavage/packaging.