Chlorella virus PBCV-1 encodes a homolog of the bacteriophage T4 UV damage repair gene denV.
The bacteriophage T4 denV gene encodes a well-characterized DNA repair enzyme involved in pyrimidine photodimer excision. We have discovered the first homologs of the denV gene in chlorella viruses, which are common in fresh water. This gene functions in vivo and also when cloned in Escherichia coli. Photodamaged virus DNA can also be photoreactivated by the host chlorella. Since the chlorella viruses are continually exposed to solar radiation in their native environments, two separate DNA repair systems, one that functions in the dark and one that functions in the light, significantly enhance their survival.
Furuta
M
M
Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln 68583-0722, USA.
Schrader
J O
JO
Schrader
H S
HS
Kokjohn
T A
TA
Nyaga
S
S
McCullough
A K
AK
Lloyd
R S
RS
Burbank
D E
DE
Landstein
D
D
Lane
L
L
Van Etten
J L
JL
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017122:Bacteriophage T4 / Q000235:genetics*; D002708:Chlorella / Q000821:virology*; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000528:radiation effects; D011088:DNA Ligases / Q000235:genetics*; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000235:genetics*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005814:Genes, Viral; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010942:Plant Viruses / Q000235:genetics*
D004279:DNA, Viral; D011088:DNA Ligases