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Updated: Dec 13, 2025

Phage Phenomics: Physiological Approaches to Characterize Novel Viral Proteins
Published on: June 11, 2015
A Lactococcal Phage Protein Promotes Viral Propagation and Alters the Host Proteomic Response During Infection
Marie-Laurence Lemay1,2, Sandra Maaß3, Andreas Otto3
1Département de biochimie, de microbiologie, et de bio-informatique, Faculté des sciences et de génie and PROTEO, Québec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada.
Abstract:
The lactococcal virulent phage p2 is a model for studying the Skunavirus genus, the most prevalent group of phages causing milk fermentation failures in cheese factories worldwide. This siphophage infects Lactococcus lactis MG1363, a model strain used to study Gram-positive lactic acid bacteria. The structural proteins of phage p2 have been thoroughly described, while most of its non-structural proteins remain uncharacterized. Here, we developed an integrative approach, making use of structural biology, genomics, physiology, and proteomics to provide insights into the function of ORF47, the most conserved non-structural protein of unknown function among the Skunavirus genus. This small phage protein, which is composed of three α-helices, was found to have a major impact on the bacterial proteome during phage infection and to significantly reduce the emergence of bacteriophage-insensitive mutants.
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