TY - JOUR
T1 - Genome sequence and gene expression of Bacillus anthracis bacteriophage Fah
AU - Minakhin, Leonid
AU - Semenova, Ekaterina
AU - Liu, Jing
AU - Vasilov, Anatoly
AU - Severinova, Elena
AU - Gabisonia, Tarasii
AU - Inman, Ross
AU - Mushegian, Arcady
AU - Severinov, Konstantin
N1 - Funding Information:
We are grateful to Dr E. A. Campbell (Rockefeller University, NY) for B. subtilis σ F and SpoIIAB expression plasmids, to Dr M. Djordjevic (Columbia University, NY) for the bioinformatic search of the plausible intrinsic terminator sequences and to Drs E. P. Geiduschek and S. Nechaev for critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by NIH GM grant R01 59295, NIAID Northeast Biodefense Center Research Center of Excellence in Biodefense and Infectious Diseases developmental grant 1 U54 AI57158, NRC/DTRA fellowship for scientific exchange with Russian Microbiological Institutes, and Burroughs Wellcome Career Award in Biomedical Sciences (to K.S.), and by DHHS USDH Biotechnology Engagement grant #9 (to T.G. and K.S.). Ekaterina Semenova was supported in part, by a Charles and Johanna Busch postdoctoral fellowship. L.J. and A.M. are supported by Stowers Institute for Medical Research.
PY - 2005/11/18
Y1 - 2005/11/18
N2 - Fah, a lytic bacteriophage of Bacillus anthracis, is used widely in the former Soviet Union to identify anthrax bacteria. Here, we present the analysis of a 37,974 bp sequence of the Fah genome and examine gene expression of the phage in a model host, Bacillus cereus. Half of the Fah genome contains genes coding for structural proteins and host lysis functions in an arrangement typical of Syphoviridae. The other half of the genome contains genes coding for enzymes of viral genome replication and for numerous predicted transcription factors that are likely to regulate viral gene expression. Primer extension, in vitro transcription assays, and gene array analysis identified temporal classes of Fah genes and allowed location of viral promoters. Fah does not execute host transcription shut-off and relies on host RNA polymerase (RNAP) σA holoenzyme for transcription of its early and late genes. In addition, Fah encodes a sigma factor, σFah, a close relative of Bacillus sporulation factor σF that directs bacterial RNAP to at least one late viral promoter. σFah is negatively regulated by host SpoIIAB, an anti-sigma factor that controls sporulation. Thus, σFah may link phage gene expression to sporulation of the host.
AB - Fah, a lytic bacteriophage of Bacillus anthracis, is used widely in the former Soviet Union to identify anthrax bacteria. Here, we present the analysis of a 37,974 bp sequence of the Fah genome and examine gene expression of the phage in a model host, Bacillus cereus. Half of the Fah genome contains genes coding for structural proteins and host lysis functions in an arrangement typical of Syphoviridae. The other half of the genome contains genes coding for enzymes of viral genome replication and for numerous predicted transcription factors that are likely to regulate viral gene expression. Primer extension, in vitro transcription assays, and gene array analysis identified temporal classes of Fah genes and allowed location of viral promoters. Fah does not execute host transcription shut-off and relies on host RNA polymerase (RNAP) σA holoenzyme for transcription of its early and late genes. In addition, Fah encodes a sigma factor, σFah, a close relative of Bacillus sporulation factor σF that directs bacterial RNAP to at least one late viral promoter. σFah is negatively regulated by host SpoIIAB, an anti-sigma factor that controls sporulation. Thus, σFah may link phage gene expression to sporulation of the host.
KW - Bacillus anthracis
KW - Bacteriophage
KW - Bacteriophage infection
KW - Genome
KW - RNA polymerase sigma factor
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jmb.2005.09.052
DO - 10.1016/j.jmb.2005.09.052
M3 - Article
C2 - 16226766
AN - SCOPUS:27344456855
SN - 0022-2836
VL - 354
SP - 1
EP - 15
JO - Journal of molecular biology
JF - Journal of molecular biology
IS - 1
ER -