IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/nature/v413y2001i6857d10.1038_35099581.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The bacteriophage φ29 portal motor can package DNA against a large internal force

Author

Listed:
  • Douglas E. Smith

    (University of California)

  • Sander J. Tans

    (University of California)

  • Steven B. Smith

    (University of California)

  • Shelley Grimes

    (University of Minnesota)

  • Dwight L. Anderson

    (University of Minnesota)

  • Carlos Bustamante

    (University of California
    University of California
    University of California
    University of California)

Abstract

As part of the viral infection cycle, viruses must package their newly replicated genomes for delivery to other host cells. Bacteriophage φ29 packages its 6.6-µm long, double-stranded DNA into a 42 × 54 nm capsid1 by means of a portal complex that hydrolyses ATP2. This process is remarkable because entropic, electrostatic and bending energies of the DNA must be overcome to package the DNA to near-crystalline density. Here we use optical tweezers to pull on single DNA molecules as they are packaged, thus demonstrating that the portal complex is a force-generating motor. This motor can work against loads of up to 57 pN on average, making it one of the strongest molecular motors reported to date. Movements of over 5 µm are observed, indicating high processivity. Pauses and slips also occur, particularly at higher forces. We establish the force–velocity relationship of the motor and find that the rate-limiting step of the motor's cycle is force dependent even at low loads. Notably, the packaging rate decreases as the prohead is filled, indicating that an internal force builds up to ∼50 pN owing to DNA confinement. Our data suggest that this force may be available for initiating the ejection of the DNA from the capsid during infection.

Suggested Citation

  • Douglas E. Smith & Sander J. Tans & Steven B. Smith & Shelley Grimes & Dwight L. Anderson & Carlos Bustamante, 2001. "The bacteriophage φ29 portal motor can package DNA against a large internal force," Nature, Nature, vol. 413(6857), pages 748-752, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:413:y:2001:i:6857:d:10.1038_35099581
    DOI: 10.1038/35099581
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/35099581
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/35099581?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Igor Orlov & Stéphane Roche & Sandrine Brasilès & Natalya Lukoyanova & Marie-Christine Vaney & Paulo Tavares & Elena V. Orlova, 2022. "CryoEM structure and assembly mechanism of a bacterial virus genome gatekeeper," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Verena Rukes & Mathieu E. Rebeaud & Louis W. Perrin & Paolo De Los Rios & Chan Cao, 2024. "Single-molecule evidence of Entropic Pulling by Hsp70 chaperones," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:413:y:2001:i:6857:d:10.1038_35099581. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.