Intron-containing T4 bacteriophage gene sunY encodes an anaerobic ribonucleotide reductase

The function of the SunY protein, encoded by an intron-containing gene of bacteriophage T4, has remained hitherto unknown in contrast to the extensively studied self-splicing reaction of the SunY intron. Here we show that anaerobic T4 infections of Escherichia coli induce a ribonucleoside triphosphate reductase activity that is 10-30-fold higher than the bacterial host level of the corresponding enzyme. Inactivation of the T4 sunY gene (in this communication renamed nrdD) significantly decreased both the induced activity and the anaerobic production of phage, confirming the role of the T4 NrdD (SunY) protein as a phage-specific anaerobic ribonucleotide reductase. With the identification of the T4 nrdD (sunY) gene product as an anaerobic ribonucleotide reductase, all known bacteriophage introns are found to share the common and as yet unexplained property of residing within genes of DNA metabolism.