Skip to main content
PMC home page
Genetics logoLink to Genetics
. 1989 Jul;122(3):471–479. doi: 10.1093/genetics/122.3.471

Genetic Definition of Two Functional Elements in a Bacteriophage T4 Host-Range ``cassette''

M Snyder 1, W B Wood 1
PMCID: PMC1203722  PMID: 2759419

Abstract

Gene 37 of T4 encodes the major subunit of the distal half of the tail fiber. The distal tip of the fiber, comprised of the carboxy-terminal ends of two molecules of gene 37 product (gp37), carries the principal determinant of the phage host range. The gp37 carboxyl termini recognize the bacterial surface during infection, and, in addition, include a site required for interaction with the product of gp38 during distal half-fiber assembly. In the absence of interaction with gp38, gp37 polypeptides do not dimerize. Eleven temperature-sensitive mutants with defects located near the promoter-distal end of gene 37 were tested at nonpermissive temperatures for production of an antigen that is diagnostic of distal half-fiber assembly. Six of the mutations prevent distal half-fiber assembly. The other five allow assembly of distal half fibers, which combine with proximal half fibers and attach to phage particles, but the resulting phage do not adsorb to bacteria. These two classes of mutations define two adjacent but separate genetic regions, corresponding to two different functional domains in gp37. These two regions and the neighboring gene 38 comprise a functional unit that can be considered as a host-range ``cassette,'' with features that are strikingly similar to corresponding functional units in other unrelated as well as related phages.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1,019.8 KB).

Selected References

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

  1. Beckendorf S. K., Kim J. S., Lielausis I. Structure of bacteriophage T4 genes 37 and 38. J Mol Biol. 1973 Jan;73(1):17–35. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(73)90156-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Beckendorf S. K. Structure of the distal half of the bacteriophage T4 tail fiber. J Mol Biol. 1973 Jan;73(1):37–53. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(73)90157-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bishop R. J., Wood W. B. Genetic analysis of T4 tail fiber assembly. I. A gene 37 mutation that allows bypass of gene 38 function. Virology. 1976 Jul 1;72(1):244–254. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(76)90327-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Chow L. T., Bukhari A. I. The invertible DNA segments of coliphages Mu and P1 are identical. Virology. 1976 Oct 1;74(1):242–248. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(76)90148-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. DE MARS R. I. The production of phage-related materials when bacteriophage development in interrupted by proflavine. Virology. 1955 May;1(1):83–99. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(55)90007-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Drexler K., Riede I., Henning U. Morphogenesis of the long tail fibers of bacteriophage T2 involves proteolytic processing of the polypeptide (gene product 37) constituting the distal part of the fiber. J Mol Biol. 1986 Sep 20;191(2):267–272. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(86)90263-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Earnshaw W. C., Goldberg E. B., Crowther R. A. The distal half of the tail fibre of bacteriophage T4. Rigidly linked domains and cross-beta structure. J Mol Biol. 1979 Jul 25;132(1):101–113. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(79)90498-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Edgar R. S., Lielausis I. Serological studies with mutants of phage T4D defective in genes determining tail fiber structure. Genetics. 1965 Dec;52(6):1187–1200. doi: 10.1093/genetics/52.6.1187. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. George D. G., Yeh L. S., Barker W. C. Unexpected relationships between bacteriophage lambda hypothetical proteins and bacteriophage T4 tail-fiber proteins. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1983 Sep 30;115(3):1061–1068. doi: 10.1016/s0006-291x(83)80043-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Grundy F. J., Howe M. M. Involvement of the invertible G segment in bacteriophage mu tail fiber biosynthesis. Virology. 1984 Apr 30;134(2):296–317. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(84)90299-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Iida S., Meyer J., Kennedy K. E., Arber W. A site-specific, conservative recombination system carried by bacteriophage P1. Mapping the recombinase gene cin and the cross-over sites cix for the inversion of the C segment. EMBO J. 1982;1(11):1445–1453. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1982.tb01336.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. KELLENBERGER E., BOLLE A., BOYDELATOUR E., EPSTEIN R. H., FRANKLIN N. C., JERNE N. K., REALE SCAFATI A., SECHAUD J. FUNCTIONS AND PROPERTIES RELATED TO THE TAIL FIBERS OF BACTERIOPHAGE T4. Virology. 1965 Jul;26:419–440. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(65)90006-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Kamp D., Kahmann R., Zipser D., Broker T. R., Chow L. T. Inversion of the G DNA segment of phage Mu controls phage infectivity. Nature. 1978 Feb 9;271(5645):577–580. doi: 10.1038/271577a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. King J. Assembly of the tail of bacteriophage T4. J Mol Biol. 1968 Mar 14;32(2):231–262. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(68)90007-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. King J., Wood W. B. Assembly of bacteriophage T4 tail fibers: the sequence of gene product interaction. J Mol Biol. 1969 Feb 14;39(3):583–601. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(69)90147-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Kutsukake K., Iino T. Inversions of specific DNA segments in flagellar phase variation of Salmonella and inversion systems of bacteriophages P1 and Mu. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1980 Dec;77(12):7338–7341. doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.12.7338. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Lindberg F., Lund B., Normark S. Gene products specifying adhesion of uropathogenic Escherichia coli are minor components of pili. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1986 Mar;83(6):1891–1895. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.6.1891. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Michel C. J., Jacq B., Arquès D. G., Bickle T. A. A remarkable amino acid sequence homology between a phage T4 tail fibre protein and ORF314 of phage lambda located in the tail operon. Gene. 1986;44(1):147–150. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(86)90055-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. 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]
  20. Plasterk R. H., Brinkman A., van de Putte P. DNA inversions in the chromosome of Escherichia coli and in bacteriophage Mu: relationship to other site-specific recombination systems. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 Sep;80(17):5355–5358. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.17.5355. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Riede I., Drexler K., Eschbach M. L., Henning U. DNA sequence of genes 38 encoding a receptor-recognizing protein of bacteriophages T2, K3 and of K3 host range mutants. J Mol Biol. 1987 Mar 5;194(1):31–39. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(87)90713-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Riede I., Drexler K., Eschbach M. L., Henning U. DNA sequence of the tail fiber genes 37, encoding the receptor recognizing part of the fiber, of bacteriophages T2 and K3. J Mol Biol. 1986 Sep 20;191(2):255–266. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(86)90262-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Riede I., Drexler K., Schwarz H., Henning U. T-even-type bacteriophages use an adhesin for recognition of cellular receptors. J Mol Biol. 1987 Mar 5;194(1):23–30. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(87)90712-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Russell R. L. Comparative genetics of the T-even bacteriophages. Genetics. 1974 Dec;78(4):967–988. doi: 10.1093/genetics/78.4.967. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. STEINBERG C. M., EDGAR R. S. A critical test of a current theory of genetic recombination in bacteriophage. Genetics. 1962 Feb;47:187–208. doi: 10.1093/genetics/47.2.187. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Schwarz H., Riede I., Sonntag I., Henning U. Degrees of relatedness of T-even type E. coli phages using different or the same receptors and topology of serologically cross-reacting sites. EMBO J. 1983;2(3):375–380. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1983.tb01433.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Ward S., Dickson R. C. Assembly of bacteriophage T4 tail fibers. 3. Genetic control of the major tail fiber polypeptides. J Mol Biol. 1971 Dec 28;62(3):479–492. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(71)90149-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Ward S., Luftig R. B., Wilson J. H., Eddleman H., Lyle H., Wood W. B. Assembly of bacteriophage T4 tail fibers. II. Isolation and characterization of tail fiber precursors. J Mol Biol. 1970 Nov 28;54(1):15–31. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(70)90443-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Wood W. B. Genetic control of bacteriophage T4 morphogenesis. Symp Soc Dev Biol. 1973;31:29–46. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-12-612975-5.50007-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Zieg J., Simon M. Analysis of the nucleotide sequence of an invertible controlling element. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1980 Jul;77(7):4196–4200. doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.7.4196. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Genetics are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES