The Minor Capsid Protein VP11 of Thermophilic Bacteriophage P23-77 Facilitates Virus Assembly by Using Lipid-Protein Interactions.

Unlabelled: Thermus thermophilus bacteriophage P23-77 is the type member of a new virus family of icosahedral, tailless, inner-membrane-containing double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses infecting thermophilic bacteria and halophilic archaea. The viruses have a unique capsid architecture consisting of two major capsid proteins assembled in various building blocks. We analyzed the function of the minor capsid protein VP11, which is the third known capsid component in bacteriophage P23-77.