Journal
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
Volume 290, Issue 16, Pages 10038-10044Publisher
AMER SOC BIOCHEMISTRY MOLECULAR BIOLOGY INC
DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M114.614222
Keywords
Bacteriophage; DNA Viruses; Electron Microscopy (EM); Protein Complex; Virus Entry; Virus Structure
Categories
Funding
- Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [BFU2011-29038, BFU2011-25090, BFU2011-24843]
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The majority of bacteriophages protect their genetic material by packaging the nucleic acid in concentric layers to an almost crystalline concentration inside protein shells (capsid). This highly condensed genome also has to be efficiently injected into the host bacterium in a process named ejection. Most phages use a specialized complex (often a tail) to deliver the genome without disrupting cell integrity. Bacteriophage T7 belongs to the Podoviridae family and has a short, non-contractile tail formed by a tubular structure surrounded by fibers. Here we characterize the kinetics and structure of bacteriophage T7 DNA delivery process. We show that T7 recognizes lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from Escherichia coli rough strains through the fibers. Rough LPS acts as the main phage receptor and drives DNA ejection in vitro. The structural characterization of the phage tail after ejection using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and single particle reconstruction methods revealed the major conformational changes needed for DNA delivery at low resolution. Interaction with the receptor causes fiber tilting and opening of the internal tail channel by untwisting the nozzle domain, allowing release of DNA and probably of the internal head proteins.
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