Search results for "Bacteriophages"
showing 10 items of 72 documents
Effective stiffening of DNA due to nematic ordering causes DNA molecules packed in phage capsids to preferentially form torus knots.
2012
Observation that DNA molecules in bacteriophage capsids preferentially form torus type of knots provided a sensitive gauge to evaluate various models of DNA arrangement in phage heads. Only models resulting in a preponderance of torus knots could be considered as close to reality. Recent studies revealed that experimentally observed enrichment of torus knots can be qualitatively reproduced in numerical simulations that include a potential inducing nematic arrangement of tightly packed DNA molecules within phage capsids. Here, we investigate what aspects of the nematic arrangement are crucial for inducing formation of torus knots. Our results indicate that the effective stiffening of DNA by …
Bacteriophage P23-77 capsid protein structures reveal the archetype of an ancient branch from a major virus lineage.
2013
Summary It has proved difficult to classify viruses unless they are closely related since their rapid evolution hinders detection of remote evolutionary relationships in their genetic sequences. However, structure varies more slowly than sequence, allowing deeper evolutionary relationships to be detected. Bacteriophage P23-77 is an example of a newly identified viral lineage, with members inhabiting extreme environments. We have solved multiple crystal structures of the major capsid proteins VP16 and VP17 of bacteriophage P23-77. They fit the 14 Å resolution cryo-electron microscopy reconstruction of the entire virus exquisitely well, allowing us to propose a model for both the capsid archi…
The Minor Capsid Protein VP11 of Thermophilic Bacteriophage P23-77 Facilitates Virus Assembly by Using Lipid-Protein Interactions
2015
ABSTRACT Thermus thermophilus bacteriophage P23-77 is the type member of a new virus family of icosahedral, tailless, inner-membrane-containing double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses infecting thermophilic bacteria and halophilic archaea. The viruses have a unique capsid architecture consisting of two major capsid proteins assembled in various building blocks. We analyzed the function of the minor capsid protein VP11, which is the third known capsid component in bacteriophage P23-77. Our findings show that VP11 is a dynamically elongated dimer with a predominantly α-helical secondary structure and high thermal stability. The high proportion of basic amino acids in the protein enables electrost…
Delayed lysis confers resistance to the nucleoside analogue 5-fluorouracil and alleviates mutation accumulation in the single-stranded DNA bacterioph…
2014
ABSTRACT Rates of spontaneous mutation determine viral fitness and adaptability. In RNA viruses, treatment with mutagenic nucleoside analogues selects for polymerase variants with increased fidelity, showing that viral mutation rates can be adjusted in response to imposed selective pressures. However, this type of resistance is not possible in viruses that do not encode their own polymerases, such as single-stranded DNA viruses. We previously showed that serial passaging of bacteriophage ϕX174 in the presence of the nucleoside analogue 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) favored substitutions in the lysis protein E (P. Domingo-Calap, M. Pereira-Gomez, and R. Sanjuán, J. Virol. 86: 9640–9646, 2012, doi:10…
Distribution of Fitness Effects Caused by Single-Nucleotide Substitutions in Bacteriophage f1
2010
Empirical knowledge of the fitness effects of mutations is important for understanding many evolutionary processes, yet this knowledge is often hampered by several sources of measurement error and bias. Most of these problems can be solved using site-directed mutagenesis to engineer single mutations, an approach particularly suited for viruses due to their small genomes. Here, we used this technique to measure the fitness effect of 100 single-nucleotide substitutions in the bacteriophage f1, a filamentous single-strand DNA virus. We found that approximately one-fifth of all mutations are lethal. Viable ones reduced fitness by 11% on average and were accurately described by a log-normal dist…
Listeria phage and phage tail induction triggered by components of bacterial-growth media (phosphate, LiCl, nalidixic acid and acriflavine)
2015
ABSTRACT The detection of Listeria monocytogenes from food is currently carried out using a double enrichment. For the ISO methodology, this double enrichment is performed using half-Fraser and Fraser broths, in which the overgrowth of L. innocua can occur in samples where both species are present. In this study, we analyzed the induction of phages and phage tails of Listeria spp. in these media and in two brain heart infusion (BHI) broths (BHIM [bioMérieux] and BHIK [Biokar]) to identify putative effectors. It appears that Na 2 HPO 4 at concentrations ranging from 1 to 40 g/liter with an initial pH of 7.5 can induce phage or phage tail production of Listeria spp., especially with 10 g/lite…
The fitness effects of synonymous mutations in DNA and RNA viruses.
2011
Despite being silent with respect to protein sequence, synonymous nucleotide substitutions can be targeted by natural selection directly at the DNA or RNA level. However, there has been no systematic assessment of how frequent this type of selection is. Here, we have constructed 53 single random synonymous substitution mutants of the bacteriophages Qb and UX174 by site-directed mutagenesis and assayed their fitness. Analysis of this mutant collection and of previous studies undertaken with a variety of single-stranded (ss) viruses demonstrates that selection at synonymous sites is stronger in RNA viruses than in DNA viruses. We estimate that this type of selection contributes approximately …
Bacteriophage Resistance Affects Flavobacterium columnare Virulence Partly via Mutations in Genes Related to Gliding Motility and the Type IX Secreti…
2021
Increasing problems with antibiotic resistance have directed interest toward phage therapy in the aquaculture industry. However, phage resistance evolving in target bacteria is considered a challenge. To investigate how phage resistance influences the fish pathogen Flavobacterium columnare, two wild-type bacterial isolates, FCO-F2 and FCO-F9, were exposed to phages (FCO-F2 to FCOV-F2, FCOV-F5, and FCOV-F25, and FCO-F9 to FCL-2, FCOV-F13, and FCOV-F45), and resulting phenotypic and genetic changes in bacteria were analyzed. Bacterial viability first decreased in the exposure cultures but started to increase after 1 to 2 days, along with a change in colony morphology from original rhizoid to …
Black box of phage–bacterium interactions : exploring alternative phage infection strategies
2021
The canonical lytic–lysogenic binary has been challenged in recent years, as more evidence has emerged on alternative bacteriophage infection strategies. These infection modes are little studied, and yet they appear to be more abundant and ubiquitous in nature than previously recognized, and can play a significant role in the ecology and evolution of their bacterial hosts. In this review, we discuss the extent, causes and consequences of alternative phage lifestyles, and clarify conceptual and terminological confusion to facilitate research progress. We propose distinct definitions for the terms ‘pseudolysogeny’ and ‘productive or non-productive chronic infection’, and distinguish them from…
Phage Specificity of the Freshwater Fish Pathogen Flavobacterium columnare
2011
ABSTRACT Flavobacteria and their phages were isolated from Finnish freshwaters and fish farms. Emphasis was placed on finding phages infecting the fish pathogen Flavobacterium columnare for use as phage therapy agents. The host ranges of the flavobacterial phages varied, phages infecting F. columnare being more host specific than the other phages.