title: Identification of a gene encoding a functional reverse transcriptase within a highly variable locus in the P2-like coliphages.
abstract: The P2-like coliphages are highly similar; the structural genes show at least 96% identity. However, at two loci they have genes believed to be horizontally transferred. We show that the genetic content at the second loci, the TO region, contains six completely different sequences with high AT contents and with different open reading frames. The product of one of them exhibits reverse transcriptase activity and blocks infection of phage T5.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Toxicology, Stockholm University, S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Odegrip
authors.forename: Anders S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Haggård-Ljungquist
mesh_terms: D017901:Bacteriophage P2 / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D005814:Genes, Viral; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase