Characterisation of herpes simplex virus morphogenesis by tracking the virus tegument through the secretory pathway

Herpes simplex virus particles, each less than a thousandth of a millimetre across, assemble themselves inside human cells by travelling through a hidden cellular highway—and this project will track that journey in real time. The virus causes cold sores and genital herpes, but in transplant patients, people on chemotherapy, and newborns it can lead to fatal brain inflammation or meningitis. No one knows exactly how the virus’s internal structure—its tegument—comes together inside a living cell. Without that knowledge, designing drugs that block assembly at an early stage remains guesswork. The team will use genetically modified viruses carrying fluorescent markers, then follow individual particles with time-lapse microscopy as they move through cultured cells. This will reveal where and in what order the tegument forms. This is fundamental science. It will not produce a new drug tomorrow. But understanding the virus’s assembly line inside a cell is the kind of basic knowledge that, in the past, has allowed researchers to identify weak points in other viruses and design antivirals against them. A clearer picture of HSV morphogenesis could eventually open routes to therapies that stop the virus before it ever becomes infectious.