Hong Kong 97 (Virus)

Hong Kong 97 is a dsDNA lambdoid phage. It has a host range of E. coli and related bacteria. The capsid protein of HK97, gp5, cross-links upon maturation to form a concatenated "chain-mail" like structure. The bacteriophage undergoes a maturation process upon DNA packaging during which it expands by nearly 5 nm and changes from spherically symmetrical to icosahedrally symmetrical. The assembly pathway follows gp5->pentamers and hexamers + gp4(protease) + gp3(portal) ->prohead 1->cleavage by protease->prohead 2 -> expansion and crosslinking -> head 2.