role of interactions between phage and bacterial proteins within the infected cell: a diverse and puzzling interactome

• Published in: Environmental microbiology Vol. 11; no. 11; pp. 2789 - 2805
• Main Authors: Roucourt, Bart, Lavigne, Rob
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2009; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Bacteria; Bacteria - virology; bacterial proteins; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; bacteriophages; Bacteriophages - physiology; defense mechanisms; Host-Parasite Interactions; hosts; metabolism; physiology; Protein Interaction Mapping; surveys; therapeutics; Viral Proteins; Viral Proteins - metabolism; virology
• ISSN: 1462-2912; 1462-2920; 1462-2920
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2009.02029.x

Interactions between bacteriophage proteins and bacterial proteins are important for efficient infection of the host cell. The phage proteins involved in these bacteriophage-host interactions are often produced immediately after infection. A survey of the available set of published bacteriophage-host interactions reveals the targeted host proteins are inhibited, activated or functionally redirected by the phage protein. These interactions protect the bacteriophage from bacterial defence mechanisms or adapt the host-cell metabolism to establish an efficient infection cycle. Regrettably, a large majority of bacteriophage early proteins lack any identified function. Recent research into the antibacterial potential of bacteriophage-host interactions indicates that phage early proteins seem to target a wide variety of processes in the host cell - many of them non-essential. Since a clear understanding of such interactions may become important for regulations involving phage therapy and in biotechnological applications, increased scientific emphasis on the biological elucidation of such proteins is warranted.