THE PROTEINS OF BACTERIOPHAGE M13

Abstract

Particles of the small filamentous coliphage M13 contain not only the major coat protein, which is the product of phage gene 8, but also a minor coat protein, the A protein, which is the product of gene 3. The A protein has a molecular weight of approximately 70,000 daltons, is present in one copy per virion, and is responsible for phage attachment to host cells. Also associated with purified M13 particles is a minor quantity of very small proteinaceous material, but its origin as a phage-coded product has not been demonstrated. At least five phage-specific proteins, including the two coat proteins, are present in appreciable quantities in M13-infected cells. The principal phage protein synthesized is the product of gene 5, which is responsible for phage single-stranded DNA synthesis. This protein has a molecular weight of about 8,000 daltons. Its precise function in DNA synthesis is not yet known. Phage proteins are synthesized at nearly normal rates in cells in which replication of phage double-stranded DNA is blocked by gene 2 mutations. This result suggests that the initial double-stranded DNA molecule serves as the principal template, perhaps the only template, for phage messenger RNA synthesis.