Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Bacteriophage Structure

  • Chapter
Comprehensive Virology Volume 13: Structure and Assembly

Part of the book series: Comprehensive Virology ((CV))

Abstract

More is known about the physical and chemical properties of the bacterial viruses than of any other virus group except for several simpler plant viruses. The reasons are based on the availability of homogeneous populations of uniform particles which are relatively easy to prepare in large quantities in moderate-sized fermentors. These particles have been extensively used in studies of nucleic acid packaging, in studies of protein—protein interactions, and more recently in characterization of the intermediates in virus assembly. As a result of continued study, a great deal is known about phage structural organization, which has provided insight into such viral functions as adsorption on cell surface receptors, unfolding and penetration of nucleic acids, and the interaction of viral structural components with the host cell membrane during maturation. Understanding of some of the earliest and most obscure steps in viral morphogenesis has been advanced by the discovery, in bacteriophages, of structural “cores” or “scaffolding” proteins which interact to guide, in as yet unknown ways, the assembly of the major capsid proteins. Ingenious structural studies using immunoelectronmicroscopy, direct examination of mutationally defective particles, and selective chemical extraction of capsids have provided much new information about the localization of virion components.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Admiraal, G., and Mellema, J. E., 1976, The structure of the contractile sheath of bacteriophage mu, y. Ultrastruct. Res. 56: 48.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Aebi, U., Bijlenga, R., Broek, J., Eiserling, F., Kellenberger, C., Kellenberger, E., Mesyanzhinov, V., Müller, L., Showe, M., Smith, R., and Steven, A., 1974, The transformation of r particles into T4 heads, J. Supramol. Struct. 2: 253.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Aebi, U., Bijlenga, R., ten Heggeler, B., Kistler, J., Steven, A. C., and Smith, P. R., 1976, Comparison of the structural and chemical composition of giant T-even phage heads, J. Supramol. Struct. 5: 475.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Aebi, U., ten Heggeler, B., Onorato, L., Kistler, J., and Showe, M. K., 1911a, A new method for localizing proteins in periodic structures: Fab fragment labeling combined with image processing of electron micrographs, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74: 5514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aebi, U., van Driel, R., Bijlenga, R., ten Heggeler, B., van den Broek, R., Steven, A., and Smith P., 1977, Capsid fine structure of T-even bacteriophages: Binding and localization of two dispensible capsid proteins into the P23 surface lattice, J. Mol. Biol. 110: 687.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amos, L. A., and Klug, A., 1975, Three dimensional image reconstructions of the contractile tail of the T4 bacteriophage, J. Mol. Biol. 99: 51.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Arscott, P., and Goldberg, E., 1976, Cooperative action of the T4 tail fibers and baseplate in triggering conformational change and in determining host range. Virology 69: 15.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Asakura, S., 1970, Polymerization of flagellin and polymorphism of flagella, Adv. Biophys. 1: 99.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beckendorf, S. K., 1973, Structure of the distal half of the bacteriophage T4 tail fiber, J. Mol. Biol. 73: 37.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Benbasat, J. A., and Bloomfield, V., 1975, Joining of bacteriophage T4D heads and tails: A kinetic study by inelastic light scattering, J. Mol. Biol. 95: 335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bijlenga, R. G. L., Aebi, U., and Kellenberger, E., 1976, Properties and structure of a gene 24-controlled T4 giant phage, J. Mol. Biol. 103: 469.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Black, L. W., and Ahmad-Zadeh, C., 1971, Internal proteins of bacteriophage T4D: Their characterization and relation to head structure and assembly, J. Mol. Biol. 57: 71.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Botstein, D., Waddell, C. H., and King, J., 1973, Mechanism of head assembly and DNA encapsulation in Salmonella phage P22. I. Genes, proteins, structures, and DNA maturation, J. Mol. Biol. 80: 669.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, D. E., 1967, Ultrastructure of bacteriophages and bacteriocins, Bacteriol. Rev. 31: 230.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Branton, D., and Klug, A., 1975, Capsid geometry of bacteriophage T2: A freezeetching study, J. Mol. Biol. 92: 559.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Casjens, S., 1974, Bacteriophage lambda FII gene protein: Role in head assembly, J. Mol. Biol. 90:1.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Caspar, D. L. D., and Klug, A., 1962, Physical principles in the construction of regular viruses. Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 27: 1.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Conley, M. P., and Wood, W. B., 1975, Bacteriophage T4 whiskers: A rudimentary environment-sensing device, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 72: 3701.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Coombs, D. H., and Eiserling, F. A., 1977, Studies on the structure, protein composition and assembly of the neck of bacteriophage T4,y. Mol. Biol. 116: 375.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crowther, R., and Klug, A., 1975, Structural analysis of macromolecular assemblies by image reconstruction from electron micrographs, Annu. Rev. Biochem. 44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crowther, R. A. Lenk, E. V., Kikuchi, Y., and King, J., 1977, Molecular reorganization in the hexagon to star transition of the baseplate of bacteriophage T4, J. Mol. Biol. 116: 489.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cummings, D. J., Chapman, V. A., DeLong, S. S., and Couse, N. L., 1973, Structural aberrations in T-even bacteriophage. III. Induction of “lollipops” and their partial characterization. Virology 54: 245.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • DeRosier, D. J., and Klug, A., 1972, Structure of the tubular variants of the head of bacteriophage T4 (polyheads). I. Arrangement of subunits in some classes of poly- heads, J. Mol. Biol. 65: 469.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dickson, R. C., 1974, Protein composition of the tail and contracted sheath of bacteriophage T4, Virology 59: 123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doermann, A. H., Eiserling, F. A., and Boehner, L. A., 1973, Genetic control of capsid length in bacteriophage T4. I. Isolation and preliminary description of four new mutants, J. Virol 12: 374.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Donelli, G., Gugliemli, F., and Pauletti, L., 1972, Structure and physicochemical properties of bacteriophage G. 1. Arrangement of protein subunits and contraction process of tail sheath, J. Mol. Biol. 71: 113.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Earnshaw, W., Casjens, S., and Harrison, S. C., 1976, Assembly of the head of bacteriophage P22: X-ray diffraction from heads, proheads, and related structure, J. Mol. Biol. 104: 387.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eiserling, F. A., Geiduschek, E. P., Epstein, R. H., and Metter, E. J., 1970, Capsid size and deoxyribonucleic acid length: The petite variant of bacteriophage T4, J. Virol. 6: 865.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Forrest, G. L., and Cummings, D. J., 1970, Head proteins from T-even bacteriophage. I. Molecular weight characterization, J. Virol. 5: 398.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fujisawa, H., and Hayashi, M., 1977, Assembly of bacteriophage øX174: Identification of a virion capsid precursor and proposal of a model for the functions of bacteriophage gene products during morphogenesis, J. Virol. 24: 303.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Glaeser, R. M., 1974, Radiation damage and resolution limitations in biological specimens, in: High Voltage Electron Microscopy (P. R. Swann et al., eds.), p. 370, Academic Press, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, R., Lengyel, J., Pruss, G., Barrett, K., Calendar, R., and Six, E., 1974, Head size determination and the morphogenesis of satellite phage P4, Curr. Top. Microbiol. Immunol. 68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hagen, E. W., Reilly, B. E., Tosi, M. E., and Anderson, D. L., 1976, Analysis of gene function of bacteriophage 029 of Bacillus subtilis: Identification of cistrons essential for viral assembly, J. Virol. 19: 501.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hemphill, H. E., and Whiteley, H. R., 1975, Bacteriophages of Bacillus subtilis, Bacteriol. Rev. 39: 257.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hendrix, R. W., and Casjens, S., 1974, Protein cleavage in bacteriophage X tail assembly, 61: 156.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hohn, T., and Katsura, I., 1977, Structure and assembly of bacteriophage lambda, Curr. Top. Microbiol. Immunol. 78: 69.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Horvitz, H. R., 1974, Bacteriophage T4 mutants deficient in alteration and modification of the Escherichia coli RNA polymerase, J. Mol. Biol. 90: 739.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hosoda, J., and Cone, R., 1970, Analysis of T4 phage proteins. I. Conversion of precursor proteins into lower molecular weight peptides during normal capsid formation, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 66: 1275.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hsiao, C., and Black, L., 1977, DNA packaging and the pathway of bacteriophage T4 assembly, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74: 3652.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Isaacson, M. S., 1977, Specimen damage in the electron microscopy, in: Principles and Techniques of Electron Microscopy, Vol. 7: Biological Applications ( M. A. Hayat, ed.), p. 1, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ishii, T., and Yanagida, M., 1977, The two dispensible structural proteins (soc and hoc) of the T4 phage capsid; their purification and their binding with the defective heads in vitro, y. Mol. Biol. 109: 487.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Israel, J. V., Anderson, T. F., and Levine, M., 1967, In vitro morphogenesis of phage P22 from heads and baseplate parts, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 57: 284.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Israel, V., 1976, Role of the bacteriophage P22 tail in the early stages of infection, J. Virol. 18: 361.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Iwashita, S., and Kanegasaki, S., 1973, Smooth specific phage adsorption: Endorhamnosidase activity of tail parts of P22, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 55: 403.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jarvik, J., and Botstein, D., 1975, Conditional-lethal mutations that suppress genetic defects in morphogenesis by altering structural proteins, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 72: 2738.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Katsura, I., 1976, Morphogenesis of bacteriophage lambda tail: Polymorphism in the assembly of the major tail protein, J. Mol. Biol. 107: 307.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Katsura, I., and Kühl, P. W., 1974, A regulator protein for the length determination of bacteriophage lambda tail, J. Supramol. Struet. 2: 239.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Katsura, I., and Kühl, P. W., 1975a, Morphogenesis of the tail of bacteriophage X. II. In vitro formation and properties of phage particles with extra long tails, Virology 63: 238.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Katsura, I., and Kühl, P. W., 1915b. Morphogenesis of the tail of bacteriophage X. III. Morphogenesis pathway, 7. Mol. Biol. 91: 257.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kellenberger, E., 1972, Assembly in biological systems, in: The Generation of Subcellular Structure, Proc. 1st John Innes Symp., p. 62, Elsevier, Amsterdam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kells, S. S., and Haselkorn, R., 1974, Bacteriophage T4 short tail fibers are the product of gene 12,7. Mol. Biol. 83: 473.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • King, J., and Mykolajewycz, N., 1973, Bacteriophage T4 tail assembly: Proteins of the sheath, core, and baseplate, J. Mol. Biol. 75: 339.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • King, J., Botstein, D., Casjens, S., Earnshaw, W., Harrison, S., and Lenk, E., 1976, Structure and assembly of the capsid of bacteriophage P22, Philos. Tr. Roy. Soc. London Ser. B 276: 37.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kurtz, M. B., and Champe, S., 1977, Precursors of the T4 internal peptides, J. Virol. 22: 412.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lake, J., and Leonard, K. R., 1974, Structure and protein distribution for the capsid of Caulobacter crescentus bacteriophage 0CbK, J. Mol. Biol. 86: 499.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lake, J. A., Pendergast, M., Kahan, L., and Nomura, M., 1974, Localization of Escherichia coli ribosomal proteins S4 and S14 by electron microscopy of antibody-labeled subunits, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 71: 4688.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Leonard, K. R., Kleinschmidt, A. K., Agabian-Keshishian, N., Shapiro, L., and Maizel, J. V., Jr., 1972, Structural studies of the capsid of Caulobacter crescentus bacteriophage 0CbK,y. Mol. Biol. 71:201.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Leonard, K. R., Kleinschmidt, A. K., and Lake, J., 1973, Caulobacter crescentus bacteriophage 0CbK: Structure and in vitro self assembly of the tail, J. Mol. Biol. 81: 349.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moody, M. F., 1965, The shape of the T-even bacteriophage head, Virology 26: 567.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moody, M. F., 1971, Structure of the T2 bacteriophage tail-core, and its relation to the assembly and contraction of the sheath, in: First European Biophyics Congress, Baden, Austria ( E. Broda, A. Locker, and H. Springer-Lederer, eds.), p. 543, Weiner Medizinische Akademie, Vienna.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moody, M. F., 1973, Sheath of bacteriophage T4. III. Contraction mechanism deduced from partially contracted sheaths, J. Mol. Biol. 60: 613.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Müller-Salamin, L., Onarato, L., and Showe, M., 1977, Localization of minor protein components of the head of the bacteriophage T4, J. Virol. 24: 121.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, R. A., Reilly, B. E., and Anderson, D. L., 1976, Morphogenesis of bacteriophage 029 of Bacillus subtilis: Preliminary isolation and characterization of intermediate particles of the assembly pathway, J. Virol. 19: 518.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Onorato, L., Stirmer, B., and Showe, M. K., 1978, Isolation and characterization of bacteriophage T4 mutant preheads, J. Virol. 27: 409.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parker, M., 1979, Ph.D. thesis, University of California, Los Angeles.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pène, J. J., Murr, P. C. and Barrow-Carraway, J., 1973, Synthesis of bacteriophage 029 proteins in Bacillus suhtilis, J. Virol. 12: 61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rabussay, D., and Geiduschek, E. P., 1977, Regulation of gene action in the development of lytic bacteriophages, in: Comprehensive Virology, Vol. 8 ( H. Fraenkel- Conrat and R. Wagner, eds.), p. 1, Plenum, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reilly, B. E., Nelson, R. A., and Anderson, D. L., 1977, Morphogenesis of bacteriophage 029 of Bacillus subtilis: Mapping and functional analysis of the head fiber gene, J. Virol. 24: 363.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ruark, J. E., Serwer, P., Ross, M. J., and Stroud, R. M., 1979, Structural study of bacteriophage T7 and T7 capsids, J. Mol. Biol, (in press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rueckert, R. R., 1976, On the structure and morphogenesis of picornaviruses, in: Comprehensive Virology, Vol. 6 ( H. Fraenkel-Conrat and R. Wagner, eds.), pp. 131–213, Plenum, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Serwer, P., 1976, The internal proteins of bacteriophage T7, Mol. Biol. 107: 27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Showe, M. K., and Black, L. W., 1973, Assembly core of bacteriophage T4: An intermediate in head formation, Nature (London) New Biol. 242: 70.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, L. D., and Anderson, T. F., 1967a, The infection of Escherichia coli by T2 and T4 bacteriophages as seen in the electron microscope. I. Attachment and penetration, Virology 32: 219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, L. D., and Anderson, T. F., 1967?, The infection of Escherichia coli by T2 and T4 bacteriophages as seen in the electron microscope. II. Structure and function of the baseplate, Virology 32: 29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, P. R., Aebi, U., Josephs, R., and Kessel, M., 1976, Studies of the structure of the T4 bacteriophage tail sheath, J. Mol. Biol. 106: 243.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stone, K. W., and Cummings, D. J., 1972, Comparison of the internal proteins of the T-even bacteriophages, J. Mol. Biol. 64: 651.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Studier, F. W., 1972, Bacteriophage T7, Science 176: 367.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tikhonenko, A. S., 1970, Ultrastructure of Bacterial Viruses, Plenum, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tosi, M., Reilly, B., and Anderson, D., 1975, Morphogenesis of bacteriophage 029 of Bacillus subtilis: Cleavage and assembly of the neck appendage protein, J. Virol. 16: 1282.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Unwin, P. N. T., 1974, Electron microscopy of stack disk aggregate of tobacco mosaic virus protein. II. The influence of electron irradiation on the strain distribution, J. Mol. Biol. 87: 657.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Unwin, P. N. T., and Henderson, R., 1975, Molecular structure determination by electron microscopy of unstained crystalline specimens, J. Mol. Biol. 94: 425.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vinuela, E., Camacho, A., Jimenez, F., Carrascosa, J. L., Ramirez, G., and Salas, M., 1976, Structure and assembly of phage 029, Philos. Tr. Roy. Soc. London Ser. B 276: 29.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wagenknecht, T., and Bloomfield, V., 1975, Equilibrium mechanisms of length regulation in linear protein aggregates, Biopolymers 14: 2297.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wagenknecht, T., and Bloomfield, V., 1977, In vitro polymerization of bacteriophage T4D tail core subunits, J. Mol Biol. 116: 347.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, R. C., and Richards, K. E., 1974, Capsid structure of bacteriophage lambda, J. Mol. Biol. 88: 547.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, W. B., and Revel, H. R., 1976, The genome of bacteriophage T4, Bacteriol. Rev. 40: 849.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wurtz, M., Kistler, J., and Hohn, T., 1976, Surface structure of in vitro assembled bacteriophage lambda polyheads, 7. Mol. Biol. 101: 39.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto, M., and Uchida, H., 1975, Organization and function of the tail of bacteriophage T4. II. Structural control of tail contraction, J. MoL Biol. 92: 207.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yanagida, M., 1977, Molecular organization of the shell of the T-even bacteriophage head. II. Arrangement of subunits in the head shells of giant phages, J. Mol. Biol. 109: 515.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yanagida, M., and Ahmad-Zadeh, C., 1970, Determination of gene product positions in bacteriophage T4 by specific antibody association, J. Mol. Biol. 51: 411.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zweig, M., and Cummings, D. J., 1973a, Structural proteins of bacteriophage T5, Virology 51: 443.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zweig, M., and Cummings, D. J., 1973Z?, Cleavage of head and tail proteins during T5 assembly: Selective host involvement in the cleavage of a tail protein, J. Mol. Biol. 80: 505.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, 90024, USA

    Frederick A. Eiserling

Authors
  1. Frederick A. Eiserling
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biology and Virus Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

    Heinz Fraenkel-Conrat

  2. Department of Microbiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

    Robert R. Wagner

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1979 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Eiserling, F.A. (1979). Bacteriophage Structure. In: Fraenkel-Conrat, H., Wagner, R.R. (eds) Comprehensive Virology Volume 13: Structure and Assembly. Comprehensive Virology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3453-8_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3453-8_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-3455-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-3453-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation