Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Genetics logoLink to Genetics
. 1984 Jan;106(1):17–27. doi: 10.1093/genetics/106.1.17

Regulation of a Bacteriophage T4 Late Gene, soc, Which Maps in an Early Region

Paul M Macdonald 1,2, Elizabeth Kutter 1,2, Gisela Mosig 1,2
PMCID: PMC1202244  PMID: 6693022

Abstract

We have sequenced and analyzed the expression of an early region of the bacteriophage T4 genome that surprisingly contains a late gene, soc. soc is oriented in the same direction as early genes, like the T4 lysozyme gene. Northern hybridization of early and late T4 RNA, using cloned T4 restriction fragments as probes, identified two long early transcripts and a short late transcript, all containing the soc-coding sequence. Thus, soc is transcribed both early and late. It is, however, translated only late. The inhibition of soc translation from the long early transcripts can be explained by formation of a hairpin in the RNA that sequesters the soc ribosome-binding site. The transcript initiated at the late promoter cannot form this hairpin and is, therefore, translated.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.3 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bijlenga R. K., Ishii T., Tsugita A. Complete primary structure of the small outer capsid (soc) protein of bacteriophage T4. J Mol Biol. 1978 Apr 5;120(2):249–263. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(78)90066-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Christensen A. C., Young E. T. T4 late transcripts are initiated near a conserved DNA sequence. Nature. 1982 Sep 23;299(5881):369–371. doi: 10.1038/299369a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Forrest G. L., Cummings D. J. Head proteins from T-even bacteriophages. II. Physical and chemical characterization. J Virol. 1971 Jul;8(1):41–55. doi: 10.1128/jvi.8.1.41-55.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Glisin V., Crkvenjakov R., Byus C. Ribonucleic acid isolated by cesium chloride centrifugation. Biochemistry. 1974 Jun 4;13(12):2633–2637. doi: 10.1021/bi00709a025. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gold L., Pribnow D., Schneider T., Shinedling S., Singer B. S., Stormo G. Translational initiation in prokaryotes. Annu Rev Microbiol. 1981;35:365–403. doi: 10.1146/annurev.mi.35.100181.002053. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Guha A., Szybalski W., Salser W., Geiduschek E. P., Pulitzer J. F., Bolle A. Controls and polarity of transcription during bacteriophage T4 development. J Mol Biol. 1971 Jul 28;59(2):329–349. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(71)90054-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hagen F. S., Young E. T. Effect of RNase III on efficiency of translation of bacteriophage T7 lysozyme mRNA. J Virol. 1978 Jun;26(3):793–804. doi: 10.1128/jvi.26.3.793-804.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hayes S., Szybalski W. Control of short leftward transcripts from the immunity and ori regions in induced coliphage lambda. Mol Gen Genet. 1973 Nov 22;126(4):275–290. doi: 10.1007/BF00269438. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Homyk T., Jr, Weil J. Deletion analysis of two nonessential regions of the T4 genome. Virology. 1974 Oct;61(2):505–523. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(74)90286-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Horvitz H. R. Bacteriophage T4 mutants deficient in alteration and modification of the Escherichia coli RNA polymerase. J Mol Biol. 1974 Dec 25;90(4):739–750. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(74)90537-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Ishii T., Yanagida M. Molecular organization of the shell of the Teven bacteriophage head. J Mol Biol. 1975 Oct 5;97(4):655–660. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(75)80065-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Ishii T., Yanagida M. The two dispensable structural proteins (soc and hoc) of the T4 phage capsid; their purification and properties, isolation and characterization of the defective mutants, and their binding with the defective heads in vitro. J Mol Biol. 1977 Feb 5;109(4):487–514. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(77)80088-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Kaczorek M., Delpeyroux F., Chenciner N., Streeck R. E., Murphy J. R., Boquet P., Tiollais P. Nucleotide sequence and expression of the diphtheria tox228 gene in Escherichia coli. Science. 1983 Aug 26;221(4613):855–858. doi: 10.1126/science.6348945. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kasai T., Bautz E. K. Regulation of gene-specific RNA synthesis in bacteriophage T4. J Mol Biol. 1969 May 14;41(3):401–417. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(69)90284-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Klaer R., Kühn S., Tillmann E., Fritz H. J., Starlinger P. The sequence of IS4. Mol Gen Genet. 1981;181(2):169–175. doi: 10.1007/BF00268423. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Krisch H. M., Allet B. Nucleotide sequences involved in bacteriophage T4 gene 32 translational self-regulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1982 Aug;79(16):4937–4941. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.16.4937. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Landsmann J., Kröger M., Hobom G. The rex region of bacteriophage lambda: two genes under three-way control. Gene. 1982 Nov;20(1):11–24. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(82)90083-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Maxam A. M., Gilbert W. Sequencing end-labeled DNA with base-specific chemical cleavages. Methods Enzymol. 1980;65(1):499–560. doi: 10.1016/s0076-6879(80)65059-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. McMaster G. K., Carmichael G. G. Analysis of single- and double-stranded nucleic acids on polyacrylamide and agarose gels by using glyoxal and acridine orange. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Nov;74(11):4835–4838. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.11.4835. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. O'Farrell P. H., Kutter E., Nakanishi M. A restriction map of the bacteriophage T4 genome. Mol Gen Genet. 1980;179(2):421–435. doi: 10.1007/BF00425473. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. O'Farrell P. Z., Gold L. M. Bacteriophage T4 gene expression. Evidence for two classes of prereplicative cistrons. J Biol Chem. 1973 Aug 10;248(15):5502–5511. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Oliver D. B., Crowther R. A. DNA sequence of the tail fibre genes 36 and 37 of bacteriophage T4. J Mol Biol. 1981 Dec 15;153(3):545–568. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(81)90407-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Orr E., Fairweather N. F., Holland I. B., Pritchard R. H. Isolation and characterisation of a strain carrying a conditional lethal mutation in the cou gene of Escherichia coli K12. Mol Gen Genet. 1979;177(1):103–112. doi: 10.1007/BF00267259. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Genetics are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES