The cII protein of bacteriophage lambda is a key regulatory protein in the life cycle of the virus. If sufficiently high levels of cII protein are present, the virus enters the lysogenic pathway and the phage DNA is inserted into the host DNA as a dormant prophage; if not enough cII protein is present, the virus enters the lytic pathway and progeny virus particles are released with lysis of the host. The level of cII protein itself is dependent upon the host and viral genotype, and also upon various environmental factors. Under normal conditions all of these factors are exquisitely balanced so that some infected cells enter the lytic pathway and others the lysogenic pathway. The long term objective of this research is to understand the interplay of all of these factors, not only because this is an important problem in its own right, but also because the understanding of this system promises to yield important insights into the regulation of basic cellular processes.
A specific aim for this grant period is to understand the role of RNA processing in the modulation of cII gene activity, including the alternate pathway for processing of cII mRNA that is utilized in the absence of the OOP antisense RNA, and a second alternate processing pathway, dependent upon the OOP antisense RNA, that is utilized in the absence of the host enzyme RNase III. In order to identify additional host genes that influence cII gene activity, a library of 8 kb E. coli DNA fragments under control of the strong lambda pL promoter has been screened for clones that inhibit lambda cII gene activity. A second specific aim is to investigate the nature and mode of action of genes which, when overexpressed, inhibit lambda cII gene activity. A third specific aim concerns the comparative biology of cII action in the lambdoid phages lambda, 21, P22 and phi80 on the cII-dependent pRE and pI promoters in these phages. (Phage phi80 has no pRE promoter, and cII- dependent repressor transcription occurs from the phi80 pRM promoter. In lambda, pI governs synthesis of lambda int mRNA; in P22 pI is headed in the wrong direction and may result in synthesis of an antisense RNA that results in processing about 100 nucleotides away from the region of complementarity; and in phi80 the int gene is pointed in the reverse direction with respect to the other phages, with nothing known about a possible pI promoter.) The nature of these systems and the mechanisms by which they lead to regulation of int mRNA levels will be investigated.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01GM028370-15
Application #
2175176
Study Section
Microbial Physiology and Genetics Subcommittee 2 (MBC)
Project Start
1980-03-01
Project End
1996-06-30
Budget Start
1994-07-01
Budget End
1996-06-30
Support Year
15
Fiscal Year
1994
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
State University of New York at Albany
Department
Biology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
City
Albany
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
12222
Wulff, D L; Ho, Y S; Powers, S et al. (1993) The int genes of bacteriophages P22 and lambda are regulated by different mechanisms. Mol Microbiol 9:261-71
Krinke, L; Mahoney, M; Wulff, D L (1991) The role of the OOP antisense RNA in coliphage lambda development. Mol Microbiol 5:1265-72
Kim, S; Wulff, D L (1990) Location of an ntr-like gene on the physical map of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol 172:6619
Krinke, L; Wulff, D L (1990) The cleavage specificity of RNase III. Nucleic Acids Res 18:4809-15
Mahoney, M E; Wulff, D L (1987) Mutations that improve the pRE promoter of coliphage lambda. Genetics 115:591-5
Wulff, D L; Mahoney, M E (1987) Cross-specificities between cII-like proteins and pRE-like promoters of lambdoid bacteriophages. Genetics 115:597-604
Dul, E; Mahoney, M E; Wulff, D L (1987) Mutations that affect the efficiency of translation of mRNA for the cII gene of coliphage lambda. Genetics 115:585-90
Krinke, L; Wulff, D L (1987) OOP RNA, produced from multicopy plasmids, inhibits lambda cII gene expression through an RNase III-dependent mechanism. Genes Dev 1:1005-13