Integration host factor

Article Draft

Protein:

Integration Host factor is a DNA-binding/bending Protein of E. Coli and some of its bacteriophages, it is essential for gene regulation, site-specific recombination, and other physiological processes. [insert citation] Being similar but just different enough from HU, a prominent binding protein, that specializes in the formation of bacterial nucleoids. [insert citation] In addition, IHF is composed of two subunits, himA and himD genes. [insert citation]

Function:

When Integration Host Factor was first discovered, it was only known for the site-specific recombination of bacteriophage. [insert citation] With further research, it was discovered that IHF plays a key role in the scope of physiological processes of E. Coli, including: site-specific recombination activities, phage packaging and partitioning, DNA replication, and the expression of many genes. [insert citation]

Interactions:

MH: [insert title]

The Enterobacteria is a virus, this virus or bacteriophage infects certain bacteria.in the lambda phage it is   specifically E. coli. The wild type, having a temperate life cycle it allows the virus to exist in 2 life cycle stages, A lysogeny and a lytic stage. During these life cycles it destroys the cell through the process of lysis, during the lysis process the offspring of the virus are released from the burst cell.

Certain mutated strains of the virus enter a lytic stage, instead of lysing the cell. During this phase they saturate the cell with the copies of the bacteriophages of an already lysed cell.

The cell has a capsid (head) and a tail, the capsid carries a double stranded DNA which carries the infectious genetic coding material. During this phase, the virus locates coding that allows it to bind to the E. coli. The bacteriophage, then injects genetic material into the cell. This usually occurs in the lytic phase. After this the virus will hijack the bacterial DNA, it then uses the cells internal structures to produce many copies of the bacteriophages, this fallowed by lysis and the virus is set free to infect other cells.

During the lysogenic phase, the virus may insert its self into the DNA of the bacterial DNA. The virus may then develop into a non-parthenogenic virus, where it exists as a commensal relationship and does not harm the bacterial cell. HU and IHF in experimentally mutated E.coli Strains

HU and IHF in experimentally mutated E.coli Strains --GG

HU and integration host factor function as auxiliary proteins in cleavage of phage lambda cohesive ends by terminase  is an academic journal written by the Department of Molecular Genetics. In their article they created isogenic strains of E.coli that were lacking HU or integration host factors to test whether bacteriophage would grow under these conditions.

HU and integration host factors (referred to as IHF throughout) are DNA binding proteins that participate in a number of DNA replication processes. HU and IHF are both responsible for inhibiting and stimulating DNA replication in E.coli. Structurally, HU and IHF are overall similar, which allows them to be interchangeable with one another. As proven in the Journal of Bacteriology experiment’s results, the two are interchangeable in some processes, but they are not perfectly interchangeable. If a bacteriophage contains a cos site mutation or the host has a DNA gyrase mutation, IHF is required in order for there to be growth of the bacteriophage .

The Journal of Bacteriology experiment tested multiple different things pertaining to bacteriophage's growth when lacking HU or IHF or both. They found that if the phage was lacking both HU and IHF the lytic growth was restricted, and plaques were unable to form. There was also a noticeable difference in burst sizes when one was missing, compared to both of them missing. Similarly, those strains lacking HU or IHF showed that late gene transcription was reduced by 3 folds. Overall, they found that HU and IHF, having at least one of them present in bacteriophage is necessary for DNA maturation to occur.