Skip to main content
PMC home page
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1972 Apr;69(4):907–911. doi: 10.1073/pnas.69.4.907

Infection of Escherichia coli by T2 and T4 Bacteriophages as Seen in the Electron Microscope: T4 Head Morphogenesis*

Lee D Simon 1
PMCID: PMC426592  PMID: 4554535

Abstract

Bacteriophage T4 capsids seem to be assembled on E. coli protoplasmic membranes. This process seems to involve “lumps” of head protein, which convert to τ particles, which in turn give rise to empty heads. The empty heads leave the bacterial membrane and are then filled with DNA in the central region of the cell. T4 gene 16 and 17 products appear to be necessary for head filling.

Keywords: capsids, plasma membrane, tau particles, phage heads, DNA

Full text

PDF
909

Images in this article

908Image
on p.908
908Image
on p.908
909Image
on p.909
910Image
on p.910
911Image
on p.911

Selected References

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

  1. Dickson R. C., Barnes S. L., Eiserling F. A. Structural proteins of bacteriophage T4. J Mol Biol. 1970 Nov 14;53(3):461–474. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(70)90077-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Edgar R. S., Wood W. B. Morphogenesis of bacteriophage T4 in extracts of mutant-infected cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1966 Mar;55(3):498–505. doi: 10.1073/pnas.55.3.498. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Hosoda J., Cone R. Analysis of T4 phage proteins. I. Conversion of precursor proteins into lower molecular weight peptides during normal capsid formation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1970 Aug;66(4):1275–1281. doi: 10.1073/pnas.66.4.1275. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Kellenberger E., Der Kamp C. K.-V. On a modification of the gene product P23 according to its use as subunit of either normal capsids of phage T4 or of polyheads. FEBS Lett. 1970 Jun 1;8(3):140–144. doi: 10.1016/0014-5793(70)80247-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kellenberger E., Eiserling F. A., Boy de la Tour E. Studies on the morphopoiesis of the head of phage T-even. 3. The cores of head-related structures. J Ultrastruct Res. 1967 Dec 12;21(3):335–360. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5320(67)80099-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. 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]
  7. Laemmli U. K., Beguin F., Gujer-Kellenberger G. A factor preventing the major head protein of bacteriophage T4 from random aggregation. J Mol Biol. 1970 Jan 14;47(1):69–85. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(70)90402-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Laemmli U. K. Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature. 1970 Aug 15;227(5259):680–685. doi: 10.1038/227680a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Laemmli U. K., Mölbert E., Showe M., Kellenberger E. Form-determining function of the genes required for the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. J Mol Biol. 1970 Apr 14;49(1):99–113. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(70)90379-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Luftig R. B., Wood W. B., Okinaka R. Bacteriophage T4 head morphogenesis. On the nature of gene 49-defective heads and their role as intermediates. J Mol Biol. 1971 May 14;57(3):555–573. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(71)90109-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. REYNOLDS E. S. The use of lead citrate at high pH as an electron-opaque stain in electron microscopy. J Cell Biol. 1963 Apr;17:208–212. doi: 10.1083/jcb.17.1.208. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Shapiro D., Kozloff L. M. A C-terminal arginine residue necessary for bacteriophage T4D tail assembly. J Mol Biol. 1970 Jul 28;51(2):185–201. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(70)90136-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Simon L. D., Anderson T. F. The infection of Escherichia coli by T2 and T4 bacteriophages as seen in the electron microscope. I. Attachment and penetration. Virology. 1967 Jun;32(2):279–297. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(67)90277-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Simon L. D. The infection of Escherichia coli by T2 and T4 bacteriophages as seen in the electron microscope. 3. Membrane-associated intracellular bacteriophages. Virology. 1969 Jun;38(2):285–296. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(69)90370-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Spurr A. R. A low-viscosity epoxy resin embedding medium for electron microscopy. J Ultrastruct Res. 1969 Jan;26(1):31–43. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5320(69)90033-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences

RESOURCES