Lambda's switch: lessons from a module swap.
A recent experiment has replaced Cro, a crucial component of lambda's genetic switch, with the lac repressor (plus two lac operators). The resulting hybrid phage is viable, but a subtle phenotypic defect explains a puzzle concerning the workings of the switch.
Ptashne
Mark
M
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10021, USA. m-ptashne@mskcc.org
D010582:Bacteriophage lambda / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D008957:Models, Genetic; D009875:Operator Regions, Genetic; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins; C016649:phage repressor proteins