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A breakthrough in our understanding of the gene expression and infective cycle of viruses

By 12 de May de 2006November 18th, 2020No Comments
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 12.05.2006

A breakthrough in our understanding of the gene expression and infective cycle of viruses

A team led by researcher Miquel Coll, head of the Structural and Computational Biology Programme at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (), has discovered the molecular bases that regulate the gene expression of the bacteriophage phi29, a virus that infects bacteria. Published in the journal Molecular Cell, the study describes the atomic structure of the p4 protein and its involvement in the regulation of viral gene expression and, therefore, in the programming of the cell infection cycle.

The p4 protein binds to two promoter regions of the DNA of the virus, thereby regulating DNA transcription, the first step towards the synthesis of viral proteins. Furthermore, these researchers have discovered a new DNA binding motif.

This study, which has also involved the PCB’s High-Throughput Crystallography Platform and the Synchrotron of the ESRF in Grenoble, has been a collaboration project between IRB and the team directed by Margarita Salas at the “Severo Ochoa” Molecular biology Centre.

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