Bacteriophage Assembly

Bacteriophages have been a model system to study assembly processes for over half a century. Formation of infectious phage particles involves specific protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions, as well as large conformational changes of assembly precursors. The sequence and molecular mec...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Anastasia A. Aksyuk, Michael G. Rossmann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2011-02-01
Series:Viruses
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/3/3/172/
Description
Summary:Bacteriophages have been a model system to study assembly processes for over half a century. Formation of infectious phage particles involves specific protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions, as well as large conformational changes of assembly precursors. The sequence and molecular mechanisms of phage assembly have been elucidated by a variety of methods. Differences and similarities of assembly processes in several different groups of bacteriophages are discussed in this review. The general principles of phage assembly are applicable to many macromolecular complexes.
ISSN:1999-4915