Mechanism of the bacteriophage phi29 DNA packaging motor

噬菌体将DNA包装到其衣壳中的机制，是其复制周期中的一个重要步骤，目前还知之甚少。对于负责DNA易位到病毒头部的分子马达的机械作用，存在几种模型，其中没有一种得到实验验证。光镊、原子力显微镜和荧光显微镜等技术足够灵敏，可以在单分子水平上探测分子机器。噬菌体phi29包装马达的包装马达，这项研究将解决更普遍的问题，即成熟如何将化学能转化为机械作用。此外，由于为一种噬菌体开发的模型可能普遍适用于其他相关病毒，因此这项研究可能会导致开发新的抗病毒药物的目标。

The mechanism by which a bacteriophage packages DNA into its capsid, an essential step in its replicative cycle, is poorly understood. Several models exist for the mechanical action of the molecular motor responsible for the translocation of the DNA into the viral head, none of which have been verified experimentally. Techniques such as optical tweezers, atomic force microscopy, and fluorescence microscopy are sensitive enough to probe molecular machines at the single-molecule level. The packaging motor of the bacteriophage phi29 packaging motor, this study will address the more general question of how mature converts chemical energy into mechanical action. Moreover, since the models developed for one type of phage are likely to be universally applicable to other related viruses, this investigation may lead to targets against which to develop new anti-viral drugs.