FIG. 6.

Base pairing between ω and a portion of φ contributes to the synthesis of minus-strand DNA. (A) Schematic representation of the dynamic conformation of pgRNA. The 5′ half of upper stem of ɛ, φ, and ω are shown as gray rectangles. The nascent minus-strand DNA attached to P protein is shown on the bulge of ɛ. The 4-nt AS upstream of ω is shown as a white rectangle. The figure is not drawn to scale. (B) Putative base pairing between the 5′ half of the upper stem of ɛ, φ, and ω. Substitutions designed to disrupt base pairing between φ and ω are shown. Variants that restore base pairing combine the corresponding φ and ω substitutions. P, P protein; AS, AS for minus-strand DNA synthesis. (C) Proportion of minus-strand DNA compared to WT reference. The level of synthesis of minus-strand DNA is defined as the amount of minus-strand DNA divided by the sum of pgRNA and minus-strand DNA. The mean values represent analysis from at least six independent transfections of each variant. The error bars represent the standard deviation.