Transcript degradation and codon usage regulate gene expression in a lytic phage.

ABSTRACT: Many viral genomes are small, containing only single- or double-digit numbers of genes and relatively few regulatory elements. Yet viruses successfully execute complex regulatory programs as they take over their host cells. Here, we propose that some viruses regulate gene expression via a carefully balanced interplay between transcription, translation, and transcript degradation. As our model system, we employ bacteriophage T7, whose genome of approximately sixty genes is well annotated and for which there is a long history of computational models of gene regulation. We expand upon prior modeling work by implementing a stochastic gene expression simulator that tracks individual transcripts, polymerases, ribosomes, and ribonucleases participating in the transcription, translation, and trans

SUBMITTER: Jack BR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6938266 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature