Second-site suppressors of a cold-sensitive external scaffolding protein of bacteriophage phi X174

This report describes the isolation and characterization of second-site suppressors of a cold-sensitive (cs) external scaffolding protein, gpD, of bacteriophage phi X174. Seven genetically distinct suppressors were isolated. Six of them are located in gene F which encodes the major coat protein of the virus. The seventh is located in gene J which encodes the DNA-binding protein. A subset of the suppressors are trans-acting. These second-site suppressors do not exhibit allele specificity; they are able to suppress defects associated with a csD protein for which they were not selected. The initial characterization of the second-site suppressors and their locations within the major coat protein suggest that the mechanism of suppression may involve both structural and stoichiometric phenomena.