Structural basis for membrane anchorage of viral φ29 DNA during replication

Abstract

Prokaryotic DNA replication is compartmentalized at the cellular membrane. Functional and biochemical studies showed that the Bacillus subtilis phage φ29-encoded membrane protein p16.7 is directly involved in the organization of membrane-associated viral DNA replication. The structure of the functional domain of p16.7 in complex with DNA, presented here, reveals the multimerization mode of the protein and provides insights in the organization of the phage genome at the membrane of the infected cell. © 2005 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.