Journal
VIROLOGY
Volume 371, Issue 2, Pages 267-277Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2007.07.035
Keywords
DNA packaging; cryo-electron microscopy; bacteriophage structure; Monte Carlo; phi 29
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Funding
- NIDCR NIH HHS [DE03606] Funding Source: Medline
- NIGMS NIH HHS [GM051487] Funding Source: Medline
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The goal of the work reported here is to understand the precise molecular mechanism of the process of DNA packaging in dsDNA bacteriophages. Cryo-EM was used to directly visualize the architecture of the DNA inside the capsid and thus to measure fundamental physical parameters such as inter-strand distances, local curvatures, and the degree of order. We obtained cryo-EM images of bacteriophage that had packaged defined fragments of the genome as well as particles that had partially completed the packaging process. The resulting comparison of structures observed at intermediate and final stages shows that there is no unique, deterministic DNA packaging pathway. Monte Carlo simulations of the packaging process provide insights on the forces involved and the resultant structures. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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