Professional services:

Senior Editor, Phytopathology (2006-2008)

Associate Editor, Journal of General Virology (1997-2002)

Co-Founder: Plant Virology Club under American Society for Virology

Chairman, Plant Virology Satellite Symposium (2002-2005)

Ad-Hoc Reviewer, National Institute of Health

• A fundamental question in virology is how viruses package their genomes in to stable virions. The major focus of research in my laboratory is to understand the mechanism of RNA packaging in RNA viruses of plants and insects with divided genomes. To this end we are using brome mosaic virus, a tripartite plant infecting RNA virus and flock house virus, a bipartite RNA viruses infecting insects and plants, as model systems for analyzing various molecular interactions between coat protein and RNA leading to assembly of mature infectious virions.

de Wispelaere, M. and A. L. N. Rao (2009). Production of cucumber mosaic virus RNA5 and its role in recombination. Virology 384: 179-191.

Padmanaban Annamalai and A. L. N. Rao. 2008. RNA encapsidation assay. In Plant Virology Protocols. (eds) Foster, Nagy, Hong, Johansen, Vol 451, pp251-264; Humana Press.

Annamalai,P., F. Rofail, D.A. DeMason, and A. L. N. Rao. (2008). Replication-Coupled Packaging in Positive Strand RNA Viruses: Synchronized Coexpression of Functional Multigenome RNA Components of an Animal and a Plant Virus in Nicotiana benthamiana by Agroinfiltration. Journal of Virology 82: 1484-1495 (PDF)

Clahoun, S. L. and A. L. N. Rao (2008). Functional analysis of brome mosaic virus coat protein-RNA interacting domains. Archives of Virology 153: 231-245. (PDF)

Calhoun, S. L., J.A. Speir and A. L. N. Rao. 2007. In vivo particle polymorphism results from deletion of a N-terminal peptide molecular switch in brome mosaic virus capsid protein. Virology 364: 407-421. (PDF)

Rao AL (2007) Preparation and inoculation of mesophyll protoplasts from monocotyledenous and dicotyledenous hosts. In T. Downey (ed.), Current Protocols in MicrobiologyCurrent Protocols in Microbiology 16D: 2.1-2.84.

Annamalai, P., and A. L. Rao. 2006. Delivery and Expression of functional viral RNA genomes in planta by agroinfiltration, p. 16B.2.1-2.15. In T. Downey (ed.), Current Protocols in Microbiology, vol. 1. John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Annamalai Padmanaban and A. L.N. Rao. 2006. In Vivo Packaging of Brome Mosaic Virus RNA3, but not RNAs 1 and 2, Is Dependent on A Cis-Acting 3’ tRNA-like Structure Journal of Virology 81: 173-181. (PDF)

Annamalai Padmanaban and A. L N. Rao. 2006. Packaging of brome mosaic virus subgenomic RNA is functionally coupled to replication-dependent transcription and translation of coat protein. Journal of Virology 80: 10096-10108. (PDF)

Rao, A. L. N. 2006. Genome Packaging by Spherical Plant RNA Viruses. Annual Review of Phytopathology 44: 61-87. (PDF)

Annamalai Padmanaban and A. L N. Rao. 2005. Replication-Independent Expression of genome components and capsid protein of brome mosaic virus in planta: a functional role for viral replicase in RNA packaging. Virology 338: 96-111. (PDF)

Annamalai Padmanaban and A. L N. Rao. 2005. Dispensability of 3’ tRNA-like sequence for packaging of cowpea chlorotic mottle virus genomic RNAs. Virology 332: 650-658. (PDF)

Annamalai Padmanban, Swapna Apte, Stephan Wilkens and A. L. N. Rao. 2004. Deletion of highly conserved arginine rich RNA binding motif in cowpea chlorotic mottle virus capsid protein results in virion structural alterations and RNA packaging constraints. Journal of Virology 79: 3277-3288. (PDF)

Choi, Y.G. and A.L.N. Rao. 2003. Packaging of brome mosaic virus RNA3 is mediated through a bipartite signal. Journal of Virology 77: 9750-9757. (PDF)

Choi, Y. G., T.W. Dreher and A.L.N. Rao. 2002. tRNA elements mediate the assembly of an icosahedral RNA virus. Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, USA 99: 655-660. (PDF)