Structure and Energetics of Encapsidated DNA in Bacteriophage HK97 Studied by Scanning Calorimetry and Cryo-electron Microscopy

摘要

Encapsidation of duplex DNA by bacteriophages represents an extreme case of genome condensation, reaching near-crystalline concentrations of DNA. The HK97 system is well suited to study this phenomenon in view of detailed knowledge of its capsid structure. To characterize the interactions involved, we combined calorimetry with cryo-EM and native gel electrophoresis. We found that, as in other phages, HK97 DNA is organized in coaxially wound nested shells. When scanned in buffer containing 1mM [Mg⁺⁺], filled capsids exhibit a complex thermal profile between 82° and 96°, to which DNA melting and capsid denaturation both contribute. In the absence of (unbound) [Mg⁺⁺], DNA melting shifts to lower temperatures and the two events are resolved. Filled capsids release their DNA at temperatures well below the onset of DNA melting or capsid denaturation. On heating, the internal pressure increases, causing the DNA to exit – probably, via the portal vertex; the capsid, although largely intact, sustains local damage that leads to an earlier onset of thermal denaturation. Filled capsids differ structurally from empty capsids in the curvature of their protein shell, a change attributable to outwards pressure exerted by the DNA. We propose that this transition is sensed by the portal which is embedded in the capsid wall, whereupon the portal's structure and its interactions with terminase, the packaging enzyme, are altered, thus signaling that packaging is at or approaching completion.