Discovery, Classification, and Early Research on the Lipid-Containing, Double-Stranded RNA Bacteriophage φ6
A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Bacterial Viruses".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 8591
Special Issue Editors
Interests: bacteriophage assembly and replication; use of virus-like particles for viral vaccine development
Interests: bacteriophage assembly and replication; use of virus-like particles for viral vaccine development
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Fifty years ago, the pseudomonad bacteriophage cystovirus φ6 was discovered in the laboratory headed by Anne Vidaver, PhD., at the Department of Plant Biology, University of Nebraska. The initial discovery elicited debate as the virion was found to be multilayered with an outer lipid envelope and to contain a genome consisting of three double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) segments. The unique (and surprising) architecture, which related the bacteriophage to the reovirus family, made it a useful model which offered simplicity to more complex systems. Consequently, a half-century of intensive research followed. Since that time and continuing until this day, φ6(and later discovered related types) has been found to be crucial in the elucidation of a wide array of mechanisms of viral assembly and replication. In particular, the multipartite genome segment selection process has been determined in order to correctly assemble a complete genome complement, both in regard to the RNA packaging signals and the physical interactions with the capsid proteins that insure accuracy and replication efficiency. The research was facilitated by pioneering work from the laboratory of Leonard Mindich, PhD., then working at the Public Health Research Institute (PHRI), first in New York City, New York and later in Newark, New Jersey. The Mindich laboratory determined the gene linkage groups, confirming the presence of three unique dsRNA segments, and continued by providing the entire φ6 genome sequence and gene identification. Further studies from multiple laboratories worldwide identified additional cystovirus types, allowing significant studies to be conducted that assessed the structure of the bacteriophage packaging proteins and the dynamic changes they undergo during genome packaging and transcription. The papers in this Special Issue review these discoveries and summarize current research efforts, including suggestions for future studies.
Dr. Paul Gottlieb
Guest Editor
Aleksandra Alimova
Guest Editor Assistant
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Keywords
- procapsid
- nucleocapsid
- polymerase complex
- assembly
- replication
- recombination
- packaging10