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Publication Abstract from PubMed

Mycobacteriophages show promise in treating antibiotic-resistant mycobacterial infections. Here, we isolated Mycofy1, a mycobacteriophage, using M. smegmatis as a host. Cryo-EM analysis revealed that Mycofy1 possesses a prolate head and a long non-contractile tail. We determined structures of its head, head-to-tail interface, terminator, and tail tube to resolutions of approximately 3.5 A. Unexpectedly, we identified two distinct types of prolate head structures, exhibiting a 36-degree relative rotation in the top cap region. Additionally, the head-to-tail interface demonstrated flexibility. Our structures provide the first high-resolution cryo-EM data of a mycobacteriophage with a prolate head, as well as detailed structural information of the head-to-tail interface and head-proximal tail region in this phage group. These findings advance our understanding of assembly mechanisms in tailed bacteriophages.

Cryo-EM reveals structural diversity in prolate-headed mycobacteriophage Mycofy1.,Li X, Shao Q, Li L, Xie L, Ruan Z, Fang Q J Mol Biol. 2025 Apr 3:169126. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2025.169126. PMID:40187685^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.