A super-family of transcriptional activators regulates bacteriophage packaging and lysis in Gram-positive bacteria
Author(s)
Quiles-Puchalt, Nuria
Angeles Tormo-Mas, Maria
Campoy, Susana
Toledo-Arana, Alejandro
Monedero, Vicente
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The propagation of bacteriophages and other mobile genetic elements requires exploitation of the phage mechanisms involved in virion assembly and DNA packaging. Here, we identified and characterized four different families of phage-encoded proteins that function as activators required for transcription of the late operons (morphogenetic and lysis genes) in a large group of phages infecting Gram-positive bacteria. These regulators constitute a super-family of proteins, here named late transcriptional regulators (Ltr), which share common structural, biochemical and functional characteristics and are unique to this group of phages. They are all small basic proteins, encoded by genes present at the end of the early gene cluster in their respective phage genomes and expressed under cI repressor control. To control expression of the late operon, the Ltr proteins bind to a DNA repeat region situated upstream of the ter S gene, activating its transcription. This involves the C-terminal part of the Ltr proteins, which control specificity for the DNA repeat region. Finally, we show that the Ltr proteins are the only phage-encoded proteins required for the activation of the packaging and lysis modules. In summary, we provide evidence that phage packaging and lysis is a conserved mechanism in Siphoviridae infecting a wide variety of Gram-positive bacteria.
Date Issued
2013-08-01
Date Acceptance
2013-04-30
Citation
Nucleic Acids Research, 2013, 41 (15), pp.7260-7275
ISSN
0305-1048
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Start Page
7260
End Page
7275
Journal / Book Title
Nucleic Acids Research
Volume
41
Issue
15
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2013. Published by Oxford University Press.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000323970700015&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
LACTOCOCCAL PHAGE TP901-1
LOW-GC-CONTENT
VIRULENCE GENES
HELPER PHAGE
TEMPERATE
REPRESSOR
PROTEINS
SEQUENCE
DNA
IDENTIFICATION
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2013-06-14