Key players in the genetic switch of bacteriophage TP901-1.

ABSTRACT: After infection of a sensitive host temperate phages may enter either a lytic or a lysogenic pathway leading to new phage assembly or silencing as a prophage, respectively. The decision about which pathway to enter is centered in the genetic switch of the phage. In this work, we explore the bistable genetic switch of bacteriophage TP901-1 through experiments and statistical mechanical modeling. We examine the activity of the lysogenic promoter P(R) at different concentrations of the phage repressor, CI, and compare the effect of CI on P(R) in the presence or absence of the phage-encoded MOR protein expressed from the lytic promoter P(L). We find that the presence of large amounts of MOR prevents repression of the P(R) promoter, verifying that MOR works as an antirepressor. We compare our e

SUBMITTER: Alsing A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3021656 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature