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Possible association between phages, Hoc protein, and the immune system

Possible association between phages, Hoc protein, and the immune system Mammals have become “an environment” for enterobacterial phage life cycles. Therefore it could be expected that bacteriophages adapt to them. This adaptation must comprise bacteriophage proteins. Gp Hoc seems to have significance neither for phage particle structure nor for phage antibacterial activity. It is evidently not necessary for the “typical” antibacterial actions of bacteriophages. But the rules of evolution make it improbable that gp Hoc really has no function, and non-essential genes of T4-type phages are probably important for phages’ adaptation to their particular lifestyle. More interesting is the eukaryotic origin of gp Hoc: a resemblance to immunoglobulin-like proteins that reflects their evolutionary relation. Substantial differences in biological activity between T4 and a mutant that lacks gp Hoc were observed in a mammalian system. Hoc protein seems to be one of the molecules predicted to interact with mammalian organisms and/or modulate these interactions. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Archives of Virology Springer Journals

Possible association between phages, Hoc protein, and the immune system

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References (22)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 by Springer-Verlag/Wien
Subject
Biomedicine; Medical Microbiology; Infectious Diseases; Virology
ISSN
0304-8608
eISSN
1432-8798
DOI
10.1007/s00705-005-0641-7
pmid
16195787
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Mammals have become “an environment” for enterobacterial phage life cycles. Therefore it could be expected that bacteriophages adapt to them. This adaptation must comprise bacteriophage proteins. Gp Hoc seems to have significance neither for phage particle structure nor for phage antibacterial activity. It is evidently not necessary for the “typical” antibacterial actions of bacteriophages. But the rules of evolution make it improbable that gp Hoc really has no function, and non-essential genes of T4-type phages are probably important for phages’ adaptation to their particular lifestyle. More interesting is the eukaryotic origin of gp Hoc: a resemblance to immunoglobulin-like proteins that reflects their evolutionary relation. Substantial differences in biological activity between T4 and a mutant that lacks gp Hoc were observed in a mammalian system. Hoc protein seems to be one of the molecules predicted to interact with mammalian organisms and/or modulate these interactions.

Journal

Archives of VirologySpringer Journals

Published: Feb 1, 2006

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