Dwight Anderson

Professor Emeritus

Diagnostic & Biological Sciences, School of Dentistry
Microbiology, Medical School

Email: dlander@umn.edu
Phone: (612) 624-7989

Education

University of Minnesota, 1961, Ph.D.

Research Interests

Bacteriophage ?29 structure and assembly Bacteriophage ?29 of Bacillus subtilis offers the opportunity for a complete understanding of the structure and assembly of a complex dsDNA bacterial virus in molecular terms. Primary current goals are to a) assemble the viral precursor capsid (prohead) in vitro from purified proteins, including a host chaperonin, and b) determine the mechanism of dsDNA packaging. All three protein constituents of the prohead, the major shell protein, the scaffold and the head-tail connector, have form determining function, and the structure and assembly of these proteins is being studied by biochemical analysis in combination with X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy 3D reconstruction. Packaging of DNA into the prohead proceeds with absolute efficiency in a completely defined in vitro system, providing experimental access to the energetics and dynamics of the process. The DNA packaging motor is comprised of the dodecameric head-tail connector, a novel multimer of RNA and a multimeric ATPase. Successive ATP hydrolyses are postulated to drive oscillation and rotation of the head-tail connector to translate DNA by two base pairs for each ATP molecule used. The force-generating packaging motor represents a new class of molecular motors and is one of the strongest motors reported, and its study will lead to a better understanding of mechanochemical energy transduction by biomolecular complexes. The structural components of the motor and their concerted dynamic function are being dissected by integrated genetic, biochemical and biophysical approaches. Methods include X-ray crystallography, transmission electron microscopy, cryo-electron microscopy and 3D reconstruction, single molecule packaging in the laser optical trap, and spectroscopic and single molecule fluorescence techniques. Click here for more information about Dr. Anderson's research.

Selected Recent Publications

• Comolli, L.R., A.J. Spakowitz, C.E. Siegerist, P.J. Jardine, S.Grimes, D.L. Anderson, C. Bustamante and K.H. Downing. 2007. Three-dimensional architecture of the bacteriophage phi29 packaged genome and elucidation of its packaging process. Virology (in press).
• Fuller, D.N., D. M. Raymer, J. P. Rickgauer, R. M. Robertson, C. E. Catalano, D. L. Anderson, S. Grimes and D. E. Smith. 2007. Measurements of Single DNA Molecule Packaging Dynamics in Bacteriophage lambda Reveal High Forces, High Motor Processivity, and Capsid Transformations. J Mol Biol. 373(5):1113-22. Epub 2007 Sep 11. PMID: 17919653.
• Rickgauer, J.P., D. N. Fuller, S. Grimes, P.J. Jardine, D.L. Anderson, and D. E. Smith. 2007. Portal motor velocity and capsid pressure during viral DNA packaging in bacteriophage phi29. Biophys J. 2007 Sep 7; [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 17827233.
• Fuller, D., J. P. Rickgauer, P. J. Jardine, S. Grimes, D. L. Anderson and D. E. Smith. 2007. Ionic effects on viral DNA packaging and portal motor function in bacteriophage phi29. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A; 104(27):11245-50.
• Atz, R., S. Ma, J. Gao, D. L. Anderson, and S. Grimes. 2007. Alanine scanning and Fe-BABE probing of the bacteriophage phi29 prohead RNA-connector interaction. J. Mol. Biol. 369:239-248. PMID: 17433366.
• Jardine, P.J. and D. Anderson. 2006. DNA packaging in double-stranded DNA bacteriophage. In The Bacteriophages, R. Calendar, ed., Oxford Press.
• Morais, M.C., K.H.Choi, J.S. Koti, P.R. Chipman, D.L. Anderson and M.G. Rossmann. 2005. Conservation of the capsid structure in tailed dsDNA bacteriophages: the pseudoatomic structure of ?29. Mol. Cell 18:149-159.
• Chemla, Y. R. Aathavan, K. Michaelis, J. Grimes, S. Jardine, P. J. Anderson, D.L. Bustamante, C. 2005. Mechanism of force generation of a viral DNA packaging motor. Cell 122: 683-692.
• Anderson, D. and S. Grimes. 2004. The ø29 DNA packaging motor: seeking the mechanism. In Viral Genome Packaging. C. Catalano, ed., Landes Bioscience, Chapter 7.
• Morais, M. C., S. Kanamaru, M. O. Badasso, J. S. Koti, B. A. L. Owen, C. T. McMurray, D .L.. Anderson, and M. G. Rossmann. 2003. Bacteriophage phi29 scaffolding protein gp7 before and after prohead assembly. Nature Struct. Biol. 10:572-576.
• Wang, H., S. Grimes, D.L. Anderson and P. Serwer. 2003. Terminal protein-induced stretching of bacteriophage ø29 DNA. J. Microscopy 213:172-179.
• Grimes, S., P. J. Jardine, and D. Anderson. 2002. Bacteriophage ø29 DNA packaging. Adv. Virus Res.58:255-294.
• Smith, D.E., S.J. Tans, S.B. Smith, S. Grimes, D.L. Anderson and C. Bustamante. 2001. The bacteriophage ø29 portal motor can package DNA against a large internal force. Nature 413:748-752.
• Simpson, A.A., P.G. Leiman, Y. Tao, Y. He, M.O. Badasso, P.J. Jardine, D.L. Anderson and M.G. Rossmann. 2001. Crystal structure determination of the head-tail connector of bacteriophage ø29. Acta Crystallographica D57:1260-1269.
• Morais, M.C., Y. Tao, N.H. Olson, S. Grimes, P.J. Jardine, T.S. Baker, D.L. Anderson and M.G. Rossmann. 2001. Cryo-EM image reconstruction of symmetry mismatches in bacteriophage ø29. J. Structural Biology 135 38-46.
• Peterson, C., M. Simon, J. Hodges, P. Mertens, L. Higgins, E. Egelman and D.L. Anderson. 2001. Composition and mass of the bacteriophage ø29 prohead and virion. J. Structural Biology 135: 18-25. Abstract
• Simpson, A. A., Y. Tao, P. G. Leiman, M. O. Badasso, Y. He, P. J. Jardine, N. H. Olson, M. C. Morais, S. Grimes, D. L. Anderson, T. S. Baker, and M. G. Rossmann. 2000. Structure of the bacteriophage ø29 DNA packaging motor. Nature 408:745-750.
• Badasso, M. O., P. G. Leiman, Y. Tao, Y. He, D. H. Ohlendorf, M. G. Rossmann, and D. Anderson. 2000. Purification, crystallization, and initial X-ray analysis of the head-tail connector of bacteriophage ø29. Acta Cryst. D 56:1187-1190.
• Tao, Y., N. H. Olson, W. Xu, D. L. Anderson, M. G. Rossmann and T. S. Baker. 1998. Assembly of a tailed bacterial virus and its genome release studied in three dimensions. Cell 95:431-437.
• Zhang, F., S. Lemieux, X. Wu, D. St-Arnaud, C. T. McMurray, F. Major and D. Anderson. 1998. Function of hexameric RNA in packaging of bacteriophage ø29 DNA in vitro. Mol. Cell 2:141-147.
• Zhang, F. and D. Anderson. 1998. In vitro selection of pRNA aptamers that bind the bacteriophage ø29 prohead. J. Biol. Chem. 273:2947-2953.
• Grimes, S. and D. Anderson. 1997. The bacteriophage ø29 packaging proteins supercoil the DNA ends. J. Mol. Biol. 266:901-914.
• Tsuprun, V., B. S. Rajagopal and D. Anderson. 1995. Electron microscopy of Bacillus subtilis GroESL chaperonin and interaction with the bacteriophage ø29 head-tail connector. J. Struct. Biol. 115:258-266. Abstract
• Tsuprun, V., D. Anderson and E. H. Egelman. 1994. The bacteriophage ø29 head-tail connector shows 13-fold symmetry in both hexagonally-packed arrays and as single particles. Biophys. J. 66:2139-2150. Abstract
• Reid, R. J. D., F. Zhang, S. Benson and D. Anderson. 1994. Probing the structure of bacteriophage ø29 prohead RNA with specific mutations. J. Biol. Chem. 269:18656-18661. Abstract
• Reid, R. J. D., J. W. Bodley and D. Anderson. 1994. Identification of bacteriophage ø29 prohead RNA domains necessary for in vitro DNA-gp3 packaging. J. Biol. Chem. 269:9084-9089. Abstract
• Reid, R. J. D., J. W. Bodley and D. Anderson. 1994. Characterization of the prohead-pRNA interaction of bacteriophage ø29. J. Biol. Chem. 269:5157-5162. Abstract
• Rajagopal, B. S., B. Reilly, and D. Anderson. 1993. Bacillus subtilis mutants defective in bacteriophage ø29 head assembly. J. Bacteriol. 175:2357-2362.
• Anderson, D. L. and B. E. Reilly. 1993. Morphogenesis of bacteriophage ø29. In Bacillus subtilis and Other Gram-Positive Bacteria: Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics . Hoch, J. A., R. Losick and A. L. Sonenshein (eds.) ASM Publications, Washington, D.C., p. 859-867.
• Turnquist, S., M. Simon, E. Egelman, and D. Anderson. 1992. Supercoiled DNA wraps around the bacteriophage ø29 head-tail connector. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89:10479-10483.