Organization and expression of bacteriophage T7 DNA

Technical Report · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1982

OSTI ID:5083239

Studier, F W; Dunn, J J

The availability of the complete nucleotide sequence of T7 DNA makes it possible to understand the organization and expression of T7 DNA at the nucleotide level. T7 genes are packed efficiently into the T7 DNA molecule, and are arranged in the order of their expression during infection. All transcription is from left to right, and the entry of T7 DNA into the cell may in fact be coupled to transcription of the DNA. A central feature of the strategy of infection is the specificity of T7 RNA polymerase for its own promoters, permitting both transcription and replication to be directed entirely to T7 DNA. Most T7 mRNAs are the products of specific cleavages by E. coli RNAase III, which appears to cut within certain base-paired structures in the RNA. T7 mRNAs compete well with host mRNAs for translation by ribosomes. Almost all T7 proteins seem to be synthesized independently, each from its own ribosome-binding and initiation site. Certain genes specify pairs of overlapping proteins, by initiating synthesis at two separate initiation sites in the same reading frame, or by shifting the reading frame during translation. The first and last 0.4% of the mature T7 DNA molecule contain a perfect direct repeat of 160 base pairs. Immediately adjacent to this terminal repetition, at both ends, are regular arrays of short repeated sequences, which presumably have some role in maturation and packaging of the DNA.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76CH00016
• OSTI ID: 5083239
• Report Number(s): BNL-31730; CONF-8206114-1; ON: DE82020742
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
BACTERIOPHAGES
BIOSYNTHESIS
DATA
DNA
DNA REPLICATION
ENZYMES
ESTERASES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GENETIC MAPPING
HYDROLASES
INFECTIVITY
INFORMATION
MAPPING
MESSENGER-RNA
MICROORGANISMS
NUCLEIC ACID REPLICATION
NUCLEIC ACIDS
NUCLEOTIDES
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PARASITES
PHOSPHODIESTERASES
PROTEINS
RNA
RNA-ASE
SYNTHESIS
TRANSCRIPTION
VIRUSES