Figure 2. All phage P22 coat subunits are competent for assembly.

Panel A shows densitometry profiles for partial capsids (closed circles, solid line) and in vitro assembled procapsids (open circles, dotted line) run on a 5 – 20 % linear sucrose gradient analyzed by SDS-PAGE, and Coomassie stained. Panel B represents the percent of subunits found where monomeric subunits sediment in a 5 – 20 % sucrose gradient (fractions 1 – 7) for reactions resulting in partial capsids (no salt), procapsids (salt de novo), and procapsids formed after salt was added to partial structures (salt after 20 hours). Panel C represents light scattering data, where salt (closed circles, solid line) and buffer (dotted line) was added to partial structures. The arrow shows the time of NaCl addition.