Earnshaw WC, King J, Harrison SC, Eiserling FA. The structural organization of DNA packaged within the heads of T4 wild-type, isometric and giant bacteriophages.
Cell 1978;
14:559-68. [PMID:
688382 DOI:
10.1016/0092-8674(78)90242-8]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
We present electron microscopic and X-ray diffraction evidence concerning the structural organization of condensed DNA within a series of T4 bacteriophage with the following head morphologies: prolate (wild-type), isometric and giant (with greatly increased axial ratio). In all cases, the DNA helix segments are locally parallel and 27 A apart. For the giant particles, we show that the DNA forms a large coil whose axis is perpendicular to the axis of the phage tail. This evidence, combined with previous results from a series of isometric bacteriophages (Earnshaw and Harrison, 1977), leads to a model for the organization of condensed DNA that may apply to most dsDNA-containing bacteriophages.
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