Decoupling Filamentous Phage Uptake and Energy of the TolQRA Motor in Escherichia coli.

ABSTRACT: Filamentous phages are nonlytic viruses that specifically infect bacteria, establishing a persistent association with their host. The phage particle has no machinery for generating energy and parasitizes its host's existing structures in order to cross the bacterial envelope and deliver its genetic material. The import of filamentous phages across the bacterial periplasmic space requires some of the components of a macrocomplex of the envelope known as the Tol system. This complex uses the energy provided by the proton motive force (pmf) of the inner membrane to perform essential and highly energy-consuming functions of the cell, such as envelope integrity maintenance and cell division. It has been suggested that phages take advantage of pmf-driven conformational changes in the Tol system

SUBMITTER: Samire P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6941534 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature