Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Virology logoLink to Journal of Virology
. 1972 Feb;9(2):189–199. doi: 10.1128/jvi.9.2.189-199.1972

Use of Miracil D to Suppress Bacterial Ribonucleic Acid and Protein Synthesis During Bacteriophage MS2 Infection

Jane Harris Cramer a,1, Robert L Sinsheimer a
PMCID: PMC356282  PMID: 4552414

Abstract

Under certain culture conditions, Miracil (35 μg/ml) halts the growth of uninfected Escherichia coli. Cellular ribonucleic acid (RNA) synthesis is almost completely suppressed, whereas deoxyribonucleic acid and protein synthesis are inhibited to a lesser extent. When the drug is added to host bacteria prior to infection with bacteriophage MS2, the phage adsorb to the cells, but penetration of the viral RNA is inhibited. Penetration may be achieved without further viral development by infection in the presence of chloramphenicol. If the bacteria are infected with MS2 in the presence of chloramphenicol, subsequently washed to remove the chloramphenicol, and then treated with Miracil at any time between 0 and 20 min postinfection, a second viral function is inhibited and the yield of progeny phage is reduced. Addition of the drug after 20 min postinfection does not inhibit the infection process. When Miracil is present from early times in infection, only a limited synthesis of both double- and single-stranded virus-specific RNA is observed. The viral RNA species thus produced do not appear to differ from those made in the absence of the drug. A comparison of the activities of the viral RNA synthetase produced during the course of infection in the presence and in the absence of Miracil suggests that a possible cause of the inhibition is the synthesis of an unstable enzyme in the presence of the drug.

Full text

PDF
189

Selected References

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

  1. Bandle E., Weissmann C. Rifampicin and the replication of the RNA-containing bacteriophage Q-beta. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1970 Feb 18;199(2):551–553. doi: 10.1016/0005-2787(70)90105-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Cammack K. A., Wade H. E. The sedimentation behaviour of ribonuclease-active and -inactive ribosomes from bacteria. Biochem J. 1965 Sep;96(3):671–680. doi: 10.1042/bj0960671. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cramer J. H., Sinsheimer R. L. Replication of bacteriophage MS2. X. Phage-specific ribonucleoprotein particles found in MS2-infected Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1971 Nov 28;62(1):189–214. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(71)90139-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Edgell M. H., Ginoza W. The fate during infection of the coat protein of the spherical bacteriophage R-17. Virology. 1965 Sep;27(1):23–27. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(65)90139-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. FENWICK M. L., ERIKSON R. L., FRANKLIN R. M. REPLICATION OF THE RNA OF BACTERIOPHAGE R17. Science. 1964 Oct 23;146(3643):527–530. doi: 10.1126/science.146.3643.527. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Franze de Fernandez M. T., Eoyang L., August J. T. Factor fraction required for the synthesis of bacteriophage Qbeta-RNA. Nature. 1968 Aug 10;219(5154):588–590. doi: 10.1038/219588a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Fromageot H. P., Zinder N. D. Growth of bacteriophage f2 in E. coli treated with rifampicin. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1968 Sep;61(1):184–191. doi: 10.1073/pnas.61.1.184. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Godson G. N., Sinsheimer R. L. The replication of bacteriophage MS2. VI. Interaction between bacteriophage RNA and cellular components in MS2-infected Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1967 Feb 14;23(3):495–521. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(67)80121-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Haywood A. M., Harris J. M. Actinomycin inhibition of MS2 replication. J Mol Biol. 1966 Jul;18(3):448–463. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(66)80036-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. KELLY R. B., GOULD J. L., SINSHEIMER R. L. THE REPLICATION OF BACTERIOPHAGE MS2. IV. RNA COMPONENTS SPECIFICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH INFECTION. J Mol Biol. 1965 Mar;11:562–575. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(65)80011-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. LEIVE L. ACTINOMYCIN SENSITIVITY IN ESCHERICHIA COLI PRODUCED BY EDTA. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1965 Jan 4;18:13–17. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(65)90874-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. LOWRY O. H., ROSEBROUGH N. J., FARR A. L., RANDALL R. J. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):265–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Leive L., Kollin V. Controlling EDTA treatment to produce permeable Escherichia coli with normal metabolic processes. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1967 Jul 21;28(2):229–236. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(67)90434-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Lunt M. R., Sinsheimer R. L. Inhibition of ribonucleic acid bacteriophage growth by actinomycin D. J Mol Biol. 1966 Jul;18(3):541–546. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(66)80042-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. NISHIMURA S., NOVELLI G. D. Resistance of S-RNA to ribonucleases in the presence of magnesium ion. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1963 May 3;11:161–165. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(63)90327-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Neu H. C., Ashman D. F., Price T. D. Effect of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid-Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane on release of the acid-soluble nucleotide pool and on breakdown of ribosomal ribonucleic acid in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1967 Apr;93(4):1360–1368. doi: 10.1128/jb.93.4.1360-1368.1967. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. PFEIFER D., DAVIS J. E., SINSHEIMER R. L. THE REPLICATION OF BACTERIOPHAGE MS2. 3. ASYMMETRIC COMPLEMENTATION BETWEEN TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE MUTANTS. J Mol Biol. 1964 Dec;10:412–421. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(64)80062-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Strauss J. H., Jr, Sinsheimer R. L. Characterization of an infectivity assay for the ribonucleic acid of bacteriophage MS2. J Virol. 1967 Aug;1(4):711–716. doi: 10.1128/jvi.1.4.711-716.1967. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Viñuela E., Algranati I. D., Ochoa S. Synthesis of virus-specific proteins in Escherichia coli infected with the RNA bacteriophage MS2. Eur J Biochem. 1967 Mar;1(1):3–11. doi: 10.1007/978-3-662-25813-2_2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Weinstein I. B., Carchman R., Marner E., Hirschberg E. Miracil D: effects on nucleic acid synthesis, protein synthesis, and enzyme induction in Escherichia coli. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1967 Jul 18;142(2):440–449. doi: 10.1016/0005-2787(67)90625-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Weinstein I. B., Chernoff R., Finkelstein I., Hirschberg E. Miracil D: an inhibitor of ribonucleic acid synthesis in Bacillus subtilis. Mol Pharmacol. 1965 Nov;1(3):297–305. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Virology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES