ABSTRACT
The coat protein was the first sequenced protein of the RNA phages, while the RNA phage coat gene was the first sequenced gene in the world. The chapter deals with composition, sequencing, and physical properties of the coat proteins. The detailed story of the specific N-terminal modification of the RNA phage coat proteins is narrated. The data on the coat protein homology are presented. A special attention is devoted to the natural read-through proteins, emerging in the Allolevivirus genus members by the natural suppression of the UGA terminator of the coat protein gene and termed usually A1 or IIb proteins. The high-resolution structure of the Qβ read-through domain is presented.
