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Structural characterization of phage defense protein BrxL


EMSL Project ID
51605

Abstract

Bacterial defense against phage infection is comprised of a large number of biological mechanisms and systems. A thorough understanding of such systems is crucial both for anti-bacterial phage therapy and for the use of microbial expression platforms in biotechnology. Among the known phage defense systems found in bacteria, the BREX (Bacteriophage Exclusion) system is poorly understood. A representative of the most common BREX system under study in our laboratory encodes seven proteins (all of which are required for restriction, and of which approximately 60% of their respective sequences can be modeled). In particular, the BrxL component is essential for phage restriction and is believed to act as a novel AAA+ ATP-dependent protease. We will determine the structure of BrxL from Acinetobacter in order to design subsequent biochemical experiments that (in combination with the structure itself) will illustrate potential mechanisms and roles by which it participates in viral defense.

Project Details

Start Date
2020-08-15
End Date
2021-03-17
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

Barry Stoddard
Institution
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Team Members

Madison Kennedy
Institution
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Lindsey Doyle
Institution
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Betty Shen
Institution
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center