title: Function of pili in bacteriophage phi 6 penetration.
abstract: The genome of bacteriophage phi 6, which has a lipid protein envelope, consists of three pieces of dsRNA. Virus infection is initiated by attachment to a phi 6-specific host pilus followed by fusion of the phage membrane and the bacterial outer membrane. In this study we analysed several different phi 6 hosts as well as more than 200 independently isolated phi 6-resistant variants derived from Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola. It is shown that phi 6-specific pili are coded by genes located in the host chromosome. It appears that pilus reaction is needed to pull the pilus-associated virus through the extracellular polysaccharide of the host and thus to bring it into contact with the outer membrane where membrane fusion can take place.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romantschuk
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Bamford
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000502:physiology*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000382:microbiology; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D010957:Plasmids; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011991:Receptors, Virus / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D011991:Receptors, Virus