To provide further insights into the role of Meq in PI3K/Akt activation and MDV infection of host cells, we plan to perform sequential deletion mutagenesis of the PXXP motifs in Meq and analyze binding of the mutant Meq proteins to p85α and p85β as well as to construct Meq-deficient MDV strains and investigate infection rates and PI3K/Akt activation in host cells. Here, PIK3R2 is linked to infection.