Mercer Lab studies Vaccinia Virus, a member of the Poxviridae family. Vaccinia virus is the active constituent of the vaccine that eradicated smallpox, and today we are using Vaccinia to study host cell biology. During its life cycle Vaccinia produces two infectious forms of viral particles, Mature Virions (MVs) and Enveloped Virions (EVs). MVs have one lipid bilayer surrounding their core, whereas EVs are wrapped with an additional cell-derived membrane. My project is to find out what are the cellular factors needed in this wrapping process.