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Role of RNA in bacteriophage phi 29 DNA packaging
1Department of Microbiology and Oral Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455.
Journal of Structural Biology
|July 1, 1990
Abstract:
A novel bacteriophage phi 29 RNA of 174 nucleotides is essential for the in vitro packaging of the DNA-terminal protein complex into proheads. The RNA, bound to the prohead portal vertex (connector), participates in assembly and function of the DNA translocating ATPase and in recognition of the DNA left-end during the course of the packaging reaction. The RNA is present in related phages and varies widely in primary sequence, but its secondary structure, as deduced by phylogenetic analysis, is both highly conserved and unique among small RNAs.