Conformational changes of short tail fibers enable genome delivery of Podoviridae phage SU10
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| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Escherichia coli phage SU10 belongs to the genus Kuravirusfrom the family Podoviridaeof phages with short tails. Kuraviruseshave the potential to be used in phage therapy against antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, however, their structure and genome delivery mechanism have not been characterized yet. Here we used cryo-electron microscopy of purified SU10 particles and cryo-electron tomography of infected E. colicells to describe the structural changes of the phage tail that are required for its genome ejection and delivery. The binding of the long tail fibers to the receptors in the outer bacterial membrane is followed by the straightening of nozzle proteins and rotation of short tail fibers by 135°. In the new arrangement, the nozzle proteins and short tail fibers alternate to form a nozzle that prolongs the tail by 28 nm. To open the tail channel, the tail needle detaches from the nozzle proteins. The inner core proteins of five types, one of which has the predicted peptidoglycan-degradation activity, are ejected from the SU10 head before or together with the genome. The nozzle with the putative extension formed by the inner core proteins enables the delivery of the SU10 genome into the bacterial cytoplasm. Tails of podoviridae phages are defined as short and non-contractile, however, here we show that upon infection kuravirus tails extend into a nozzle for genome delivery. |
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