Viruses: incredible nanomachines. New advances with filamentous phages

Abstract

During recent decades, bacteriophages have been at the cutting edge of new developments in molecular biology, biophysics, and, more recently, bionanotechnology. In particular filamentous viruses, for example bacteriophage M13, have a virion architecture that enables precision building of ordered and defect-free two and three-dimensional structures on a nanometre scale. This could not have been possible without detailed knowledge of coat protein structure and dynamics during the virus reproduction cycle. The results of the spectroscopic studies conducted in our group compellingly demonstrate a critical role of membrane embedment of the protein both during infectious entry of the virus into the host cell and during assembly of the new virion in the host membrane. The protein is effectively embedded in the membrane by a strong C-terminal interfacial anchor, which together with a simple tilt mechanism and a subtle structural adjustment of the extreme end of its N terminus provides favourable thermodynamical association of the protein in the lipid bilayer. This basic physicochemical rule cannot be violated and any new bionanotechnology that will emerge from bacteriophage M13 should take this into account.

Bacteriophages: the possible solution to treat infections caused by pathogenic bacteria

“…The peptides produced from phage display can be used in drug design as therapeutic and pathogens detection agents (Petrenko and Vodyanoy 2003). Phage display techniques can also be used in both nanotechnology (Hemminga et al 2010) and nanomedicine fields (Souza et al 2010).…”

Genomics of Bacterial and Archaeal Viruses: Dynamics within the Prokaryotic Virosphere

“…The family contains two genera, Inovirus and Plectrovirus. Different aspects of inovirus biology as well as their biotechnological appeal have been extensively investigated and recently reviewed (105,223), while plectroviruses have received only modest attention. Inoviruses were found to infect a wide range of Gram-negative bacteria as well as some Gram-positive species (49,132,241).…”

“…4A), while those of plectroviruses are short rods (247). Unlike other bacterial viruses, with the exception of plasmavirus L2 (206), members of the Inoviridae do not lyse host cells but leave them by extrusion coupled to virion assembly (105,175,223). All characterized plectroviruses and some (but not all) inoviruses are capable of lysogenizing their hosts.…”

Chemical modulation of M13 bacteriophage and its functional opportunities for nanomedicine

“…25 The viral capsid is aligned along the shaft and is composed of 2,700 copies of pVIII and ~5 copies of minor coat proteins pIII, pVI, pIX, and pVII located at either end. 21,22 The 50-residue pVIII (98% by mass) is composed of three distinct domains, namely, a negatively charged hydrophilic N-terminal domain (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20), an intermediate hydrophobic domain (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39), and a positively charged domain (40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)…”

“…Spruijt et al 35 employed site-directed labeling in the phage system by incorporating single cysteines in M13 pVIII. 36 The several mutants were subsequently spin-labeled for electron spin resonance spectroscopy or fluorescently labeled. This study provided insight into the location and incorporation of the hydrophobic domain of pVIII in the phospholipid bilayer.…”