Figure 10-7: The l holin kills without warning. At t = 0, cells tethered to a microscope slide by anti-flagellin antibodies were induced for the expression of the plasmid pS105A52G, which carries the l lysis cassette, including the SA52G early lysis allele, under the control of its cognate promoter, pR’. Single frames chosen from the recordings of a representative cell are depicted here to illustrate the saltatory nature of holin killing. Starting from the time point indicated to the left of the panel, single frames were captured every 200 msec. After induction of the lysis genes, the tethered cells rotate at high and constant speed (first row). About 20 min after induction, rotation of the cell abruptly slows and stops completely within 1 to 3 sec (second row). Cell lysis, due to digestion of the cell wall by the l R endolysin, occurs within several sec after the sudden stop in rotation (third and fourth rows). Adapted from Gründling et al. (55), with permission. (for better image quality, click here for tif image, which may be quite large; may also require screen refreshing plus special software to view; or view larger tif in separate window)

Figure 10-1, Figure 10-2, Figure 10-3, Figure 10-4, Figure 10-5, Figure 10-6, Figure 10-7, Figure 10-8, Figure 10-9, Figure 10-10

return to Young and Wang, Phage Lysis