title: Structure and function of bacteriophage T4.
abstract: Bacteriophage T4 is the most well-studied member of Myoviridae, the most complex family of tailed phages. T4 assembly is divided into three independent pathways: the head, the tail and the long tail fibers. The prolate head encapsidates a 172 kbp concatemeric dsDNA genome. The 925 Å-long tail is surrounded by the contractile sheath and ends with a hexagonal baseplate. Six long tail fibers are attached to the baseplate's periphery and are the host cell's recognition sensors. The sheath and the baseplate undergo large conformational changes during infection. X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy have provided structural information on protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions that regulate conformational changes during assembly and infection of Escherichia coli cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, 240 S. Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2032, USA.
authors.forename: Moh Lan
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Yap
authors.forename: Michael G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Rossmann
mesh_terms: D017122:Bacteriophage T4 / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D020285:Cryoelectron Microscopy; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000821:virology*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D019065:Virus Assembly
chemical_list: D014764:Viral Proteins
keywords: T4 infection; assembly; bacteriophage T4; baseplate; contractile tail; genome packaging