title: Identification of a ligand on the Wip1 bacteriophage highly specific for a receptor on Bacillus anthracis.
abstract: Tectiviridae is a family of tailless bacteriophages with Gram-negative and Gram-positive hosts. The family model PRD1 and its close relatives all infect a broad range of enterobacteria by recognizing a plasmid-encoded conjugal transfer complex as a receptor. In contrast, tectiviruses with Gram-positive hosts are highly specific to only a few hosts within the same bacterial species. The cellular determinants that account for the observed specificity remain unknown. Here we present the genome sequence of Wip1, a tectivirus that infects the pathogen Bacillus anthracis. The Wip1 genome is related to other tectiviruses with Gram-positive hosts, notably, AP50, but displays some interesting differences in its genome organization. We identified Wip1 candidate genes for the viral spike complex, the structure located at the capsid vertices and involved in host receptor binding. Phage adsorption and inhibition tests were combined with immunofluorescence microscopy to show that the Wip1 gene product p23 is a receptor binding protein. His-p23 also formed a stable complex with p24, a Wip1 protein of unknown function, suggesting that the latter is involved with p23 in host cell recognition. The narrow host range of phage Wip1 and the identification of p23 as a receptor binding protein offer a new range of suitable tools for the rapid identification of B. anthracis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bacterial Pathogenesis and Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Sherry
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kan
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fornelos
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schuch
authors.forename: Vincent A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Fischetti
mesh_terms: D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D016679:Genome, Viral; D008024:Ligands; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011991:Receptors, Virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D017916:Tectiviridae / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D008024:Ligands; D011991:Receptors, Virus
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2002 Mar;43(6):1615-27
references.pmid: 11952909
references.citation: J Virol. 1974 Sep;14(3):689-99
references.pmid: 4211861
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Apr 17;104(16):6666-71
references.pmid: 17416681
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2002 Dec;46(5):1199-209
references.pmid: 12453208
references.citation: J Clin Microbiol. 2005 Sep;43(9):4780-8
references.pmid: 16145141
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 1994 Sep;60(9):3204-11
references.pmid: 16349376
references.citation: Structure. 2003 Mar;11(3):309-22
references.pmid: 12623018
references.citation: J Virol. 2000 Sep;74(17):7781-6
references.pmid: 10933684
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2006 Apr;188(8):3037-51
references.pmid: 16585764
references.citation: J Gen Virol. 1976 Jul;32(1):129-32
references.pmid: 822131
references.citation: Virology. 1991 Aug;183(2):658-76
references.pmid: 1853567
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2008 Nov;74(21):6792-6
references.pmid: 18791014
references.citation: Virol J. 2012 Oct 26;9:246
references.pmid: 23098174
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2003 Dec;185(23):6985-9
references.pmid: 14617663
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 1999 Nov;181(21):6689-96
references.pmid: 10542170
references.citation: J Virol. 1977 Mar;21(3):1223-7
references.pmid: 403298
references.citation: Theor Popul Biol. 2002 Jun;61(4):461-70
references.pmid: 12167365
references.citation: J Virol. 1994 Jan;68(1):1-5
references.pmid: 8254718
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2010 Apr;76(7):2286-94
references.pmid: 20118353
references.citation: Structure. 2005 Dec;13(12):1819-28
references.pmid: 16338410
references.citation: J Virol. 1982 Dec;44(3):1021-30
references.pmid: 6816950
references.citation: Virology. 1990 Aug;177(2):445-51
references.pmid: 2196741
references.citation: J Struct Biol. 2002 Aug;139(2):103-12
references.pmid: 12406692
references.citation: Virology. 1991 Mar;181(1):348-52
references.pmid: 1994582
references.citation: J Biol Chem. 2001 Dec 7;276(49):46187-95
references.pmid: 11577098
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 1997 Aug;179(16):5203-10
references.pmid: 9260965
references.citation: Virology. 2003 Sep 1;313(2):401-14
references.pmid: 12954208
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2006 Aug;188(16):5925-34
references.pmid: 16885461
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Nov 25;105(47):18549-54
references.pmid: 19017791
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 2001 Nov 2;313(4):785-95
references.pmid: 11697904
references.citation: Mol Cell. 2005 Apr 15;18(2):161-70
references.pmid: 15837420
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 1999 Aug 20;291(3):575-87
references.pmid: 10448038
references.citation: PLoS One. 2009 Aug 12;4(8):e6532
references.pmid: 19672290
references.citation: Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr. 2002 Jan;58(Pt 1):39-59
references.pmid: 11752778
references.citation: Can J Microbiol. 1978 Aug;24(8):986-93
references.pmid: 688106
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2005 Mar;187(6):1966-73
references.pmid: 15743944
references.citation: Nature. 2002 Aug 22;418(6900):884-9
references.pmid: 12192412