Ff phages

Shadowed electron micrograph of unaligned phage

Ff phages (for F specific filamentous phages) is a group of almost identical filamentous phage (genus Inovirus) including phages f1, fd, M13 and ZJ/2, which infect bacteria bearing the F fertility factor.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] The virion (virus particle) is a flexible filament measuring about 6 by 900 nm, comprising a cylindrical protein tube protecting a single-stranded circular DNA molecule at its core. The phage codes for only 11 gene products, and is one of the simplest viruses known. It has been widely used to study fundamental aspects of molecular biology. George Smith and Greg Winter used f1 and fd for their work on phage display for which they were awarded a share of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.[8] Early experiments on Ff phages used M13 to identify gene functions,[9][10] and M13 was also developed as a cloning vehicle,[11] so the name M13 is sometimes used as an informal synonym for the whole group of Ff phages.

  1. ^ Rasched I, Oberer E (December 1986). "Ff coliphages: structural and functional relationships". Microbiological Reviews. 50 (4): 401–27. doi:10.1128/MR.50.4.401-427.1986. PMC 373080. PMID 3540571.
  2. ^ Mai-Prochnow A, Hui JG, Kjelleberg S, Rakonjac J, McDougald D, Rice SA (July 2015). "'Big things in small packages: the genetics of filamentous phage and effects on fitness of their host'". FEMS Microbiology Reviews. 39 (4): 465–87. doi:10.1093/femsre/fuu007. hdl:10453/65260. PMID 25670735.
  3. ^ Rakonjac J, Bas B, Derda R, eds. (2017). Filamentous Bacteriophage in Bio/Nano/Technology, Bacterial Pathogenesis and Ecology. Frontiers Research Topics. Frontiers Media SA. doi:10.3389/978-2-88945-095-4. ISBN 978-2-88945-095-4.
  4. ^ Morag O, Abramov G, Goldbourt A (December 2011). "Similarities and differences within members of the Ff family of filamentous bacteriophage viruses". The Journal of Physical Chemistry B. 115 (51): 15370–9. doi:10.1021/jp2079742. PMID 22085310.
  5. ^ Hay ID, Lithgow T (June 2019). "Filamentous phages: masters of a microbial sharing economy". EMBO Reports. 20 (6). doi:10.15252/embr.201847427. PMC 6549030. PMID 30952693.
  6. ^ Rakonjac J, Bennett NJ, Spagnuolo J, Gagic D, Russel M (2011). "Filamentous bacteriophage: biology, phage display and nanotechnology applications". Current Issues in Molecular Biology. 13 (2): 51–76. PMID 21502666.
  7. ^ Rakonjac J, Russel M, Khanum S, Brooke SJ, Rajič M (2017). "Filamentous Phage: Structure and Biology". In Lim TS (ed.). Recombinant Antibodies for Infectious Diseases. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. Vol. 1053. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 1–20. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-72077-7_1. ISBN 978-3-319-72076-0. PMID 29549632.
  8. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  9. ^ Pratt D, Tzagoloff H, Erdahl WS (November 1966). "Conditional lethal mutants of the small filamentous coliphage M13. I. Isolation, complementation, cell killing, time of cistron action". Virology. 30 (3): 397–410. doi:10.1016/0042-6822(66)90118-8. PMID 5921643.
  10. ^ Pratt D, Tzagoloff H, Beaudoin J (September 1969). "Conditional lethal mutants of the small filamentous coliphage M13. II. Two genes for coat proteins". Virology. 39 (1): 42–53. doi:10.1016/0042-6822(69)90346-8. PMID 5807970.
  11. ^ Messing J (April 1991). "Cloning in M13 phage or how to use biology at its best". Gene. 100: 3–12. doi:10.1016/0378-1119(91)90344-b. PMID 2055478.