Comparative studies on the structural proteins of T3 and T7 phages

A comparison of the coat protein patterns of the wild types of the related phages T3 and T7 on SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was carried out. After infection of the nonpermissive host with T7 amber mutants in genes 7, 11, 12, 13 or 17 and T3 amber mutants in genes 11, 12, 13 and 17 respectively, noninfectious, DNA containing particles were produced. The protein pattern, as well as electron microscopy of defective particles of T3 and T7 led to the conclusion that the proteins specified by genes 11, 12, 13 and 17 are tail proteins whereas the proteins coded by genes 7, 8, 10, 14, 15 and 16 enter the head structure. The "serum blocking protein" (gene 17 product) seems to play a different role in the assembly of T3 and T7 tails, since T3 particles defective in gene 17 did not show any tail structure connected with the head whereas T7 particles defective in gene 17 had a tail which looked different from that of the wildtype. Treatment of wildtype particles with ammonium nitrate or sodium pyrophosphate led to morphologically abberrant forms which had partially or completely lost the hexagonal head structure. After treatment with ammonium nitrate ball-like structures were obtained, both for T3 and T7. However, in the case of T3 these abberrant forms contained the proteins specified by genes 7, 8 and 10 whereas those derived from T7 contained only the proteins specified by genes 8 and 10. Sodium pyrophosphate treatment of T3 and T7 wildtype particles led to a release of the phage tails. The isolated tails were examined by electron microscopy thus revealing for the first time a detailed substructure of the T3 and T7 phage tails. In order to find out more about the tail proteins, absorption experiments with isolated bacterial cell walls were carried out.