Chlorella Virus PBCV-1 Encodes a Homolog of the Bacteriophage T4 UV Damage Repair Gene denV

Authors

Masakazu Furuta, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
John Schrader, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Holly Schrader, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Tyler Kokjohn, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Simon Nyaga, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas
Amanda McCullough, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas
R. Stephen Lloyd, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas
Dwight Burbank, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Dorit Landstein, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Leslie C. Lane, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
James L. Van Etten, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

4-1997

Comments

Published in APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, 0099-2240/97/$04.0010 Apr. 1997, p. 1551–1556 Vol. 63, No. 4 Copyright © 1997, American Society for Microbiology. Used by permission.

Abstract

The bacteriophage T4 denV gene encodes a well-characterized DNA repair enzyme involved in pyrimidine photodimer excision. We have discovered the first homologs of the denV gene in chlorella viruses, which are common in fresh water. This gene functions in vivo and also when cloned in Escherichia coli. Photo-damaged virus DNA can also be photoreactivated by the host chlorella. Since the chlorella viruses are continually exposed to solar radiation in their native environments, two separate DNA repair systems, one that functions in the dark and one that functions in the light, significantly enhance their survival.