Phage tail

The T4 phage tail is assembled in a separate sequence. Six copies of each of three different proteins form a "hub" with hexagonal symmetry (Fig. 7-29). 

Figure 7-29 Assembly sequence for bacteriophage T4 with details for the tail. The numbers refer to the genes in the T4 chromosome map (Fig. 26-2). A "P" after the number indicates that the protein gene product is incorporated into the phage tail. Other numbers indicate gene products that are thought to have essential catalytic functions in the assembly process. Adapted from King and Mykolajewycz236 and Kikuchi and King.214...

Use 200-300 pL of cells for a 100-mm plate or 600-800 for a 150-nun plate. In vitro packaging mixes contain a large excess of phage tails, so use the larger volume for them. Maltose-grown cells also help a lot. 

The core or needle of the phage tail provides a convenient marker for the site of DNA injection on the host cell (Fig. 10). In the experiment of Table II, we counted adsorbed T2 phages which revealed unambiguous contacts between the tail core and the profile of the outer membrane. The data are presented as percentage of phage particles whose tail cores made contact over adhesion zones. The results show that a preferential adsorption. 

---