Virus Hybrids as Nanomaterials

Abstract

Bacteriophage T4 has proven itself readily amenable to phage-based DNA and protein packaging, expression, and display systems due to its physical resiliency and genomic fl exibility. As a large dsDNA phage with dis- pensable internal proteins and dispensable outer capsid proteins it can be adapted to package both DNA and proteins of interest within the capsid and to display peptides and proteins externally on the capsid. A single 170 kb linear DNA, or single or multiple copies of shorter linear DNAs, of any sequence can be packaged by the large terminase subunit in vitro into protein-containing proheads and give full or partially full capsids. The prohead receptacles for DNA packaging can also display peptides or full-length proteins from capsid display proteins HOC and SOC. Our laboratory has also developed a protein expression, packaging, and processing (PEPP) system which we have found to have advantages over mammalian and bacterial cell sys- tems, including high yield, increased stability, and simplifi ed downstream processing. Proteins that we have produced by the phage PEPP platform include human HIV-1 protease, micrococcal endonuclease from Staphylococcus aureus , restriction endonuclease Eco RI, luciferase, human granulocyte colony stimulating fac- tor (GCSF), green fl uorescent protein (GFP), and the 99 amino acid C-terminus of amyloid precursor pro- tein (APP). Diffi cult to produce proteins that are toxic in mammalian protein expression systems are easily produced, packaged, and processed with the PEPP platform. APP is one example of such a highly refractory protein that has been produced successfully. The methods below describe the procedures for in vitro packag- ing of proheads with DNA and for producing recombinant T4 phage that carry a gene of interest in the phage genome and produce and internally package the corresponding protein of interest. Key