A shifty chaperone for phage tail assembly

摘要

Long-tailed bacteriophages (phages) comprise 80% of the total number of phages, which are recognized as the most abundant organic entity on earth [1], The tails of these phages are complex structures that are required for host cell recognition, binding, and penetration of the cell envelope to allow DNA injection into the host cell cytoplasm. The assembly of a long phage tail involves the activity of many different proteins that are assembled in a highly coordinated, multistep process.