Structural analysis of the Spiroplasma virus, SpV4: implications for evolutionary variation to obtain host diversity among the Microviridae.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Spiroplasma virus, SpV4, is a small, non-enveloped virus that infects the helical mollicute Spiroplasma melliferum. SpV4 exhibits several similarities to the Chlamydia phage, Chp1, and the Coliphages alpha 3, phi K, G4 and phi X174. All of these viruses are members of the Microviridae. These viruses have isometric capsids with T = 1 icosahedral symmetry, cause lytic infections and are the only icosahedral phages that contain single-stranded circular DNA genomes. The aim of this comparative study on these phages was to understand the role of their capsid proteins during host receptor recognition.

Results

The three-dimensional structure of SpV4 was determined to 27 A resolution from images of frozen-hydrated particles. Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) revealed 20,

SUBMITTER: Chipman PR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4167680 | biostudies-literature | 1998 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature