Transcription-termination-mediated immunity and its prevention in bacteriophage SfV of Shigella flexneri

Fleur Roberts, Gwen E. Allison, Naresh K. Verma*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    3 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The temperate phage SfV encodes the genes responsible for the serotype conversion of Shigella flexneri strains from serotype Y to 5a. Bacteriophages often encode proteins that prevent subsequent infection by homologous phages; the mechanism by which this is accomplished is referred to as superinfection immunity. The serotype conversion mediated following lysogenization of SfV is one such mechanism. Another mechanism is the putative λ-like Cl protein within SfV. This study reports the characterization of a third superinfection mechanism, transcription termination, in SfV. The presence of a small immunity-mediating RNA molecule, called Cl RNA, and its essential role in the establishment of immunity, is shown. The novel role of the gene orf77, located immediately downstream from the transcription termination region, in inhibiting the establishment of Cl RNA-mediated immunity is also presented.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)3187-3197
    Number of pages11
    JournalJournal of General Virology
    Volume88
    Issue number11
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Nov 2007

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