IDENTIFICATION OF THE BACTERIOPHAGE T4 unf (= alc) GENE PRODUCT, A PROTEIN INVOLVED IN THE SHUTOFF OF HOST TRANSCRIPTION

Richard E. Herman ¹, Nancy Haas ¹, and D. Peter Snustad ¹

¹ Department of Genetics and Cell Biology, College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108

The introduction of plasmid pR386 into E. coli cells renders them restrictive to the growth of phage T4 unf (=alc ) mutants. This system has been used to isolate Unf⁺ revertants, which, along with the mutant parental strains, have been used to identify the unf gene product by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Synthesis of the unf gene product, a polypeptide of just over 18,000 daltons in size, begins within 1 min after infection and terminates at about 12 min after infection at 30°. Gene dosage experiments suggest that the unf protein functions catalytically.

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				E. S. Miller, E. Kutter, G. Mosig, F. Arisaka, T. Kunisawa, and W. Ruger Bacteriophage T4 Genome Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev., March 1, 2003; 67(1): 86 - 156. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]