Bacteriophage evolution

Merckel, M. C., Huiskonen, J. T., Bamford, D. H., Goldman, A., and Tuma, R. (2005). The structure of the bacteriophage PRD1 spike sheds light on the evolution of viral capsid architecture. Mol. Cell 18, 161-170. 

Tuerk, C. Gold, L. Systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment RNA ligands to bacteriophage T4 DNA polymerase. Science 1990, 249, 505-510. 

The first successful attempts to study RNA evolution in vitro were carried out in the late sixties by Sol Spiegelman9 and his group at Columbia University (Spiegel-man, 1971). They made use of an RNA replicase isolated from Escherichia coli cells infected by the RNA bacteriophage QP and prepared a medium for replication by adding the four ribonucleoside triphosphates (GTP, ATP, CTP, and UTP) in a suitable buffer solution. QP RNA, when transferred into this medium, instantaneously started to replicate. Evolutionary experiments were carried out by means of the serial transfer technique (Figure 4). Materials consumed in RNA replication... 

Weaver et al. (1985) noted some similarities in the active site of the three lysozymes, but with the following striking difference. Residue 73 (Glu) in goose corresponds with residue 35 (Glu) in chick and with residue 11 (Glu) in bacteriophage T4. On the other hand, there are two Asp residues at positions 86 and 97 in the goose active site, neither of which corresponds exactly with Asp-52 of chick nor Asp-20 of T4. The implications for potential differences in the mechanism of catalytic action by the three lysozymes were discussed by Johnson et al. (1988) and by et al. (1985). The latter authors discussed the unresolved question as to whether the c-type lysozyme exons correspond to distinct structural and/or functional entities that are conserved during evolution of the three types of lysozyme considered. 

Benson, S. D., Bamford, J. K., Bamford, D. H., and Burnett, R. M. (1999). Viral evolution revealed by bacteriophage PRDl and human adenovirus coat protein structures. Cell 98, 825-833. 

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