title: The role of interactions between phage and bacterial proteins within the infected cell: a diverse and puzzling interactome.
abstract: Interactions between bacteriophage proteins and bacterial proteins are important for efficient infection of the host cell. The phage proteins involved in these bacteriophage-host interactions are often produced immediately after infection. A survey of the available set of published bacteriophage-host interactions reveals the targeted host proteins are inhibited, activated or functionally redirected by the phage protein. These interactions protect the bacteriophage from bacterial defence mechanisms or adapt the host-cell metabolism to establish an efficient infection cycle. Regrettably, a large majority of bacteriophage early proteins lack any identified function. Recent research into the antibacterial potential of bacteriophage-host interactions indicates that phage early proteins seem to target a wide variety of processes in the host cell - many of them non-essential. Since a clear understanding of such interactions may become important for regulations involving phage therapy and in biotechnological applications, increased scientific emphasis on the biological elucidation of such proteins is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gene Technology, Department of Biosystems, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 21 box 2462, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Roucourt
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lavigne
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000821:virology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000502:physiology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D025941:Protein Interaction Mapping; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins