Bacteriophages: Lipid‐containing

Hanna M Oksanen, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Minna M Poranen, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Dennis H Bamford, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

Published online: June 2010

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0000779.pub2

Viruses exhibit vast diversity in their form and function and are by far the most numerous (estimates 1030–1032) organisms on earth. The largest group among viruses is bacteriophages, the viruses that infect bacteria, with over 5000 identified members. Majority of the phages are composed of protein and nucleic acid with a head–tail morphology. Polyhedral, filamentous or pleomorphic phages comprise only less than 4% of the described bacteriophages, and a minority of these have lipid constituents in addition to nucleic acid and protein. These lipid-containing bacteriophages form a diverse group of viruses and they are classified in four virus families Corticoviridae, Cystoviridae, Plasmaviridae and Tectiviridae. The lipids can be either as the outermost layer of the virion or they can locate internally enclosed within the virus capsid. In both cases, the viral membranes are involved in cell entry processes.

Key Concepts:

  • The lipid-containing bacteriophages are a diverse group of bacterial viruses.
  • The lipid-containing bacteriophages are sensitive to organic solvents and detergents.
  • Lipids in the viral membrane have a bilayer structure.
  • The virion proteins are all virus specific, but lipids are derived from host cytoplasmic membrane.
  • During virus morphogenesis, the virus-specific proteins exclude host proteins during formation of the viral membrane.
  • The viral protein-rich membranes have an essential role during entry mediating the translocation of the genome across the host cell envelopes.

Keywords: bacterial viruses; lipid-containing bacteriophages; virus evolution; life cycles

Figure 1. The virion morphotypes of the lipid-containing bacteriophage families and unassigned phages P23-77 and L172. The particles are drawn in a scale. Protein (blue), lipid bilayer (yellow), DNA (purple) and RNA (red) are coloured. Double-stranded and single-stranded genomes are marked out by double and single lines, respectively.
Figure 2. Corticovirus PM2. A schematic presentation of the virion architecture and functions of the proteins.
Figure 3. Cystovirus 6. (Upper panel) A schematic presentation of the 6 virion architecture and functions of the proteins. (Lower panel) Schematic presentation of the 6 life cycle. (a) The phage adsorbs to the host pilus. (b) Fusion between viral envelope and host outer membrane. (c) Peptidoglycan digestion. (d and e) Penetration of plasma membrane. (f) Early transcription. (g and h) Assembly of empty polymerase complexes. (i) Sequential packaging of the three single-stranded genomic precursor s, m and l into the empty polymerase complexes. (j and k) Synthesis of complementary RNA strands with in the polymerase complex. (l) Late transcription. (m) Synthesis and assembly of nucleocapsid shell protein P8; synthesis of viral membrane proteins on the plasma membrane. (n) Intracellular translocation of envelopes on the nucleocapsids; assembly of P3 spikes on the enveloped virions. (o) Release of mature virions by virus-induced host cell lysis. Reproduced from Poranen MM and Bamford DH Cystovirus, Cystoviridae. In: Tidona C and Darai G (eds), The Springer Index of Viruses, 2nd edn; with permission from Springer.
Figure 4. Tectivirus PRD1. (Upper panel) A schematic presentation of the PRD1 virion architecture and functions of the proteins. (Lower panel) Schematic presentation of the PRD1 life cycle. (a) The phage adsorbs onto the host surface. (b) The membrane transforms to the tubular form followed by DNA injection into the cytoplasm. (c and d) After DNA delivery, protein-primed genome replication, transcription and translation take place. (e and f) During translation, the capsid proteins accumulate into the cytosol, whereas the viral membrane-associated proteins are addressed to the cytoplasmic membrane. (g) Upon procapsid assembly, the virus-specific patch is pinched off from the host cytoplasmic membrane and the soluble capsid proteins interact with the virus-specific membrane. (h) The procapsid consisting of capsid enclosing the empty membrane is formed. (i) The genome is packaged into procapsid by the packaging ATPase P9 through a unique vertex. (j) The mature virions are released via lysis.
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 Further Reading
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    book Maniloff J (1992) "Mycoplasma viruses". In: Maniloff J, McElhaney RN, Finch LR and Baseman JB (eds) Mycoplasmas, Molecular Biology and Pathogenesis, pp. 41–59. Washington, DC: American Society for Microbiology.
    Poranen MM, Tuma R and Bamford DH (2005) Assembly of double-stranded RNA bacteriophages. Advances in Virus Research 64: 15–43.
    book Tuma R (2008) "Icosahedral enveloped dsRNA bacterial viruses". In: Mahy BWJ and Van Regenmortel MHV (eds) Encyclopedia of Virology, 5 vols, pp. 6–13. Oxford: Elsevier.

Related Sub-Topics:

RNA Viruses | Virus Structure | Viruses Infecting Bacteria
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Article Title: Bacteriophages: Lipid‐containing
 
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Oksanen, Hanna M, Poranen, Minna M, and Bamford, Dennis H(Jun 2010) Bacteriophages: Lipid‐containing. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0000779.pub2]