Summary
The infection of E. coli with T-even bacteriophages results in modification of α-polypeptide of the host RNA polymerase which can be revealed by its changed electrophoretic mobility after treatment with 6 M urea. The infection with bacteriophages T3 and T7 does not lead to such a change of the bacterial core enzyme. The core enzyme from T7-infected cells is shown to compete efficiently with host RNA polymerase for a DNA template while the core from T2-infected bacteria fails to do so. These differences in the fate of bacterial RNA polymerase after infection with the two groups of T-phages can be explained by the fact that in T3- and T7-infection new phage-induced RNA polamerases carry out the transcription of late genes while in T-even infection all transcription, is performed by the host enzyme. After T7 infections the bacterial RNA polymerase loses its sigma factor. This process requires protein synthesis.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Babinet, C.: A new method for the purification of RNA polymerase. Biochem. biophys. Res. Commun. 26, 639–644 (1967)
Bogdanova, E. S., Zograff, Yu. N., Bass, I. A., Shemyakin, M. F.: Free subunits of RNA polymerase in normal and phage infected cells of E. coli. Molec. Biologia (Russian) 4, 435–444 (1970)
Burgess, R. R.: A new method for a large-scale purification of E. coli DNA dependent RNA polymerase. J. biol. Chem. 244, 6160–6167 (1970)
Burgess, R. R., Travers, A. A., Dunn, J. J., Bautz, E. K. F.: Factor stimulating transcription by RNA polymerase. Nature (Lond.) 221, 43–46 (1969)
Chamberlin, M., Berg, P.: Deoxyribonucleic acid-directed synthesis of ribonucleic acid by enzyme from Escherichia coli. Proc. nat. Acad. Sci. (Wash.) 48, 81–94 (1962)
Chamberlin, M., McGrath, I., Waskel, L.: New RNA polymerase from E. coli infected with bacteriophage T7. Nature (Lond.) 228, 227 (1970)
Dharmgrongartama, Mahadic, S. P., Srinivasan, P. R.: Modification of RNA polymerase after T3 phage infection of E. coli B. Proc. nat. Acad. Sci. (Wash.) 70, 2845–2849 (1973)
Haselkorn, R., Vogel, M., Brown, R. D.: Conservation of the rifamicyn sensitivity of transcription during T4 development. Nature (Lond.) 221, 836–838 (1969)
Heil, A., Zillig, W.: Reconstitution of bacterial DNA-dependent RNA polymerase from isolated subunits as a tool for the elucidation of the role of the subunits in transcription. FEBS Letters II, 165–168 (1970)
Horwitz, H. R.: Polypeptide bound to the host RNA polymerase is specified by T4 control gene 33. Nature (Lond.) New Biol. 244, 137–140 (1973)
Ilyina, T. S., Ovadis, M. I., Mindlin, S. Z. Gorlenko, Zh. M., Khesin, R. B.: Interactions of RNA polymerase mutations in haploid and merodiploid cells of E. coli K-12. Molec. gen. Genet. 110, 118–133 (1971)
Khesin, R. B., Bogdanova, E. S., Goldfarb, A. D., Zograff, Yu. N.: Competition for the DNA template between RNA polymerase molecules from normal and phage-infected E. coli. Molec. gen. Genet. 119, 299–314 (1972)
Riva, S., Cascino, A., Geiduschek, E. P.: Coupling of late transcription to viral replication in bacteriophage T4 development. J. molec. Biol. 54, 85–102 (1970)
Schachner, M. A., Seifert, W.: Enzymatic properties of bacteriophage T4 altered and modified RNA polymerase as compared to DNA-dependent RNA polymerase from E. coli. Hoppe-Seyler's Z. physiol. Chem. 352, 734–742 (1971)
Scherzinger, E., Herrlich, P., Schweiger, M., Schuster, H.: The early region on the DNA of bacteriophage T7. Europ. J. Biochem. 25, 341–348 (1972)
Schweiger, M., Herrlich, P., Scherzinger, E., Rahmsdorf, H. J.: Negative control of protein synthesis after infection with bacteriophage T7. Proc. nat. Acad. Sci. (Wash.) 69, 2203–2207 (1972)
Seifert, W., Qasba, P., Walter, G., Palm, P., Schachner, M. A., Zillig, W.: Kinetic of the alteration and modification of DNA-dependent RNA polymerase in T4-infected E. coli cells. Europ. J. Biochem. 9, 319–324 (1969)
Siegel, R. B., Summers, W. C.: The process of infection with coliphage T7. III. Control of phage specific RNA synthesis in vivo by an early phage gene. J. molec. Biol. 49, 115–123 (1970)
Sokolova, E. V., Ovadis, M. I., Gorlenko, Zh. M., Khesin, R. B.: Localization of streptolydigin on T2 phage development in stl-r and stl-s strains of E. coli Biochem. biophys. Res. Commun. 41, 870–876 (1970)
Stevens, A.: New small polypeptides associated with DNA-dependent RNA polymerase of Escherichia coli after infection with bacteriophage T4. Proc.nat. Acad.Sci. (Wash.) 69, 603–607 (1972)
Stevens, A.: An inhibitor of host sigma-stimulated core enzyme activity that purifies with DNA-dependent RNA polymerase E. coli following T4 phage infection Biochem. biophys. Res. Commun. 54, 488–493 (1973)
Summers, W. C., Brunovskis, I., Hyman, R. W.: The process of infection with coliphage T7. VII. Characterization and mapping of the major in vitro transcription products of the early region J. molec. Biol. 74, 291–300 (1973)
Summers, W. C., Siegel, R. B.: Transcription of late phage RNA by T7 RNA polymerase. Nature (Lond.) 228, 1160–1162 (1970)
Travers, A.: Bacteriophage sigma factor for RNA polymerase. Nature (Lond.) 223, 1107–1110 (1969)
Travers, A.: RNA polymerase and T4 development. Cold Spr. Harb. Symp. quant. Biol. 35, 241–251 (1970)
Wais, A. C., Goldberg, E. B.: Growth and transformation of phage T4 in Escherichia coli B/4, Salmonella, Aerobacter, Proteus and Serratia. Virology 39, 153–161 (1969)
Zagraff, Yu. N., Khourgess, E. M.: Inhibitor of association between sigma-factor and core RNA polymerase in E. coli infected with bacteriophage T2 or T7. Molec. Biologia (Russian) 7, 707–713 (1973)
Zograff, Yu. N., Nickiforov, V. G., Shemyakin, M. F.: Relation between synthesis of mRNA and DNA replication in E. coli B infected with T-even phages. Molec. Biologia (Russian) I, 94–103 (1967)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by D. Goldfarb
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bogdanova, E.S., Gorlenko, Z.M. & Khourgess, E.M. On the effect of bacteriophage infection on host RNA polymerase. Molec. Gen. Genet. 133, 261–272 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00267675
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00267675