Identification and comparative analysis of the structural proteomes of phi KZ and EL, two giant Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteriophages

Giant bacteriophages phi KZ and EL of Pseudomonas aeruginosa contain 62 and 64 structural proteins, respectively, identified by ESI-MS/MS on total virion particle proteins. These identifications verify gene predictions and delineate the genomic regions dedicated to phage assembly and capsid formation (30 proteins were identified from a tailless phi KZ mutant). These data form the basis for future structural studies and provide insights into the relatedness of these large phages. The 4 KZ structural proteome strongly correlates to that of Pseudomonas chlororaphis bacteriophage 201 phi 2-1. Phage EL is more distantly related, shown by its 26 non-conserved structural proteins and the presence of genomic inversions.