Purification and properties of gene 18 product of bacteriophage T3》.pdf

VIROLOGY 139, 251-259 (1984) Purification and Properties of Gene 18 Product of Bacteriophage T3 KAZUSHIGE HAMADA, HISAO FUJISAWA,’ AND TEIICHI MINAGAWA Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606, Japan Received June 4, 198 accepted July SO, 1984 Two noncapsid proteins of T3 and T7 phage, the products of gene 18(gp18) and gp19, are required for DNA packaging. By using in vitro complementation for DNA packaging as an assay system, T3 gp18 was purified to near homogeneity from an extract prepared cells infected with a mutant of gene 19(19- extract). The purified gp18 consisted of a single polypeptide having a molecular weight of 10,099, and was eluted as dimers and higher multimers from Sephadex G-75 columns. T7 gp18 was purified by the same procedures as that for T3 gp18 and behaved in the same manner as T3 gp18 throughout all purification steps. Gp18 from either T3 or T7 phage complemented both T3 and T7 18- extract for DNA packaging. These results indicate that, in contrast to gp19 [H. Fujisawa and M. Yamagishi (1981) Prog. Clin Biol Rec. 64.239-2521, gp18 does not have specificity for T3 or T7 DNA during the in vitro packaging reaction. T3 gp18 was purified from extract containing functional gp19. The