Bacteriophage Nf DNA region controlling late transcription: structural and functional homology with bacteriophage φ29

The putative region for the control of late transcription of the Bacillus subtilis phage Nf has been identified by DNA sequence homology with the equivalent region of the evolutionary related phage phi 29. A similar arrangement of early and late promoters has been detected in the two phages, suggesting that viral transcription could be regulated in a similar way at late times of the infection. Transcription of late genes requires the presence of a viral early protein, gpF in phage Nf and p4 in phage phi 29, being the latter known to bind to a DNA region located upstream from the phage phi 29 late promoter. We have identified a DNA region located upstream from the putative late promoter of phage Nf that is probably involved in binding protein gpF. Furthermore, we show that the phage phi 29 protein p4 is able to bind to this region and activate transcription from the phage Nf putative late promoter. Sequence alignment has also revealed the existence of significant internal homology between the two early promoters contained in this region of each phage.