Dr. Gu’s work investigates the replication strategies of animal viruses using porcine coronaviruses (enveloped) and porcine circoviruses (non-enveloped) as models. Host and viral non-coding RNAs and RNA modifications were identified that regulates coronavirus replication, with there mechanism elucidated. Reveals the conformational dynamics of the circovirus capsid is critical for cell surface receptor binding, and demonstrates a unique mode of nuclear entry without Disassembly.