Genetic and biochemical studies of the lipid-containing bacteriophage PR4

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5525043

Vanden Boom, T J

Bacteriophage PR4 is a lipid-containing bacterial virus able to infect Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. The icosahedral virion consists of an external protein capsid layer which surrounds a membrane vesicle enclosed ds DNA genome. The author has analyzed the time course of phage PR4 protein synthesis and have identified at least 34 proteins present in phage infected cells not detected in uninfected control cultures. In addition, he has isolated a more extensive set of conditional-lethal nonsense mutants of this virus. This collection of mutants permitted the identification of seven additional phage PR4 gene products, including the terminal genome protein and an accessory lytic factor. The present collection of phage PR4 mutants has been assigned to 19 distinct genetic groups on the basis of genetic complementation tests and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of the proteins produced in mutant-infected UV-irradiated cells. A restriction endonuclease map of the phage PR4 genome was constructed which includes 59 sites for ten restriction endonucleases. In addition, he has constructed a collection of recombinant plasmids containing subgenomic DNA fragments of bacteriophage PR4. He has used this collection of plasmids to generate a physical-genetic map of the PR4 genome. The physical-genetic map localizes mutations in 13 phage PR4 genetic groups on the viral DNA molecule. To investigate the role of phosphatidylglycerol (PG) in phage assembly and infectivity, he propagated PR4 on an E. coli mutant defective in PG synthesis. The PG content of phage PR4 grown on the mutant host accounted for 0.4% of the total viral phospholipids, representing a 90-fold decrease in PG relative to the PG content of phage grown on a wild type host.

• Research Organization: Illinois Univ., Urbana, IL (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5525043
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550400 -- Genetics
560130* -- Radiation Effects on Microorganisms
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
BACTERIA
BACTERIOPHAGES
BIOCHEMISTRY
BIOLOGY
BIOSYNTHESIS
CELL CONSTITUENTS
CELL MEMBRANES
CHEMISTRY
DNA
DNA-ASE
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELECTROPHORESIS
ENDONUCLEASES
ENZYMES
ESCHERICHIA COLI
ESTERASES
ESTERS
GENE MUTATIONS
GENES
GENETIC MAPPING
GENETICS
HYDROLASES
LIPIDS
MAPPING
MEMBRANES
MICROORGANISMS
MUTATIONS
NUCLEIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS
PARASITES
PHOSPHODIESTERASES
PHOSPHOLIPIDS
PLASMIDS
RADIATIONS
RECOMBINANT DNA
SALMONELLA
SALMONELLA TYPHIMURIUM
SYNTHESIS
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
VIRUSES