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Updated: Jan 3, 2026
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Phage Phenomics: Physiological Approaches to Characterize Novel Viral Proteins
Published on: June 11, 2015
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Structural characterization of bacteriophage viruses by NMR
1School of Chemistry, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel.
Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
|November 30, 2019
Summary
Magic-angle spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR provides structural and dynamic insights into bacteriophage viruses. This review highlights MAS NMR
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Structural Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Bacteriophages are crucial in molecular biology and medicine.
- Understanding bacteriophage structure and dynamics is essential.
- Previous knowledge from static and solution NMR is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the application of Magic-Angle Spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR in studying bacteriophage systems over the last decade.
- To compare MAS NMR findings with existing knowledge from other NMR techniques.
- To present novel structural and dynamic insights into bacteriophage systems.
Main Methods:
- Utilized advanced MAS solid-state NMR techniques, including 2D/3D assignment experiments, proton-detection, fast spinning, and non-uniform sampling.
- Employed recoupling of anisotropic interactions to study conformational dynamics.
- Applied dynamic nuclear polarization for signal enhancement.
Main Results:
- Determined the structures of M13 filamentous bacteriophage and AP205 capsid using MAS NMR data.
- Analyzed chemical shifts of phage capsids and DNA, comparing them to general high molecular-weight DNA.
- Revealed dynamics at the capsid-DNA interface in filamentous phages, mediated by mobile charged residues.
Conclusions:
- MAS NMR is a powerful tool for elucidating bacteriophage structure and dynamics.
- Filamentous phages exhibit unique dynamics and electrostatic interactions between capsid and DNA.
- Bacteriophage systems drive the development of new NMR methodologies.
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