VIRION
Non-enveloped, head-tail structure. The head is about 60 nm in diameter. The tail is flexible, about 140 nm in length and 8 nm in width, with short brush-like terminal fibers.
GENOME
Linear, dsDNA genome of about 46 kb with covalently closed hairpin ends, encoding about 60 proteins. The genome has cohesive ends (cos sites) .
GENE EXPRESSION
ENZYMES
- DNA methylase [O64360]
- Cysteine protease (Peptidase C40) [I7DJZ5]
- Serine protease (Peptidase S24 and S74) [O64338, O64339]
- Serine protease (Peptidase S49) [O64320]
- Endolysin [O64362]
- Terminase [O64317]
- Exonuclease [O64348]
REPLICATION
CYTOPLASMIC
- Adsorption: The phage attaches to target cell adhesion receptors through its tail fibers.
- Ejection of the viral DNA into host cell cytoplasm by long flexible tail ejection system.
- Genome circularization
- Protelomerase cuts at another site, giving rise to a linear plasmid
- Transcription and translation of early genes.
- Replication of genomic DNA by dsDNA bidirectional replication.
- Transcription and translation of late genes
- Assembly of an empty procapsid and packaging of the genome.
- Viral tail fiber assembly and viral tail assembly.
- Mature virions are released from the cell by lysis.