Structure
Volume 15, Issue 4, April 2007, Pages 461-472
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Article
Quasi-Atomic Model of Bacteriophage T7 Procapsid Shell: Insights into the Structure and Evolution of a Basic Fold

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Summary

The existence of similar folds among major structural subunits of viral capsids has shown unexpected evolutionary relationships suggesting common origins irrespective of the capsids' host life domain. Tailed bacteriophages are emerging as one such family, and we have studied the possible existence of the HK97-like fold in bacteriophage T7. The procapsid structure at ∼10 Å resolution was used to obtain a quasi-atomic model by fitting a homology model of the T7 capsid protein gp10 that was based on the atomic structure of the HK97 capsid protein. A number of fold similarities, such as the fitting of domains A and P into the L-shaped procapsid subunit, are evident between both viral systems. A different feature is related to the presence of the amino-terminal domain of gp10 found at the inner surface of the capsid that might play an important role in the interaction of capsid and scaffolding proteins.

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3

Present address: Wadsworth Center, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12201, USA.

4

Present address: California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research, 1700 4th Street, Suite 501, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.