The structure of Shigella virus Sf14 reveals the presence of two decoration proteins and two long tail fibers
Abstract Bacteriophage Sf14 infects the human pathogen Shigella flexneri. A previous low-resolution structure suggested the presence of a decoration protein on its T = 9 icosahedral capsid. Here, we determined high-resolution structures of the Sf14 capsid and neck, along with a moderate-resolution s...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Communications Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07668-x |
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| author | Sundharraman Subramanian Hailey R. Kerns Samantha G. Braverman Sarah M. Doore |
| author_facet | Sundharraman Subramanian Hailey R. Kerns Samantha G. Braverman Sarah M. Doore |
| author_sort | Sundharraman Subramanian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Bacteriophage Sf14 infects the human pathogen Shigella flexneri. A previous low-resolution structure suggested the presence of a decoration protein on its T = 9 icosahedral capsid. Here, we determined high-resolution structures of the Sf14 capsid and neck, along with a moderate-resolution structure of the whole Sf14 tail and baseplate. These structures indicate the capsid has not one, but two different types of decoration proteins: a trimeric β-tulip lattice that covers the entire capsid and a set of Hoc-like proteins that bind preferentially to hexamers at the quasi-3-fold axes of symmetry. The neck also contains two sets of whiskers oriented in opposite directions, and the tail has two types of long tail fibers which may bind different receptors. Based on homology and phylogenetic analysis, Sf14 may be the product of multiple horizontal gene transfer events. The structures presented here can be used to investigate further hypotheses of phage structure-function relationships and structural diversity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c81c95342d58496dac621ef23d4a6b8a |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2399-3642 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-c81c95342d58496dac621ef23d4a6b8a2025-08-20T02:48:27ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Biology2399-36422025-02-018111110.1038/s42003-025-07668-xThe structure of Shigella virus Sf14 reveals the presence of two decoration proteins and two long tail fibersSundharraman Subramanian0Hailey R. Kerns1Samantha G. Braverman2Sarah M. Doore3Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State UniversityDepartment of Microbiology and Cell Science, University of FloridaDepartment of Microbiology and Cell Science, University of FloridaDepartment of Microbiology and Cell Science, University of FloridaAbstract Bacteriophage Sf14 infects the human pathogen Shigella flexneri. A previous low-resolution structure suggested the presence of a decoration protein on its T = 9 icosahedral capsid. Here, we determined high-resolution structures of the Sf14 capsid and neck, along with a moderate-resolution structure of the whole Sf14 tail and baseplate. These structures indicate the capsid has not one, but two different types of decoration proteins: a trimeric β-tulip lattice that covers the entire capsid and a set of Hoc-like proteins that bind preferentially to hexamers at the quasi-3-fold axes of symmetry. The neck also contains two sets of whiskers oriented in opposite directions, and the tail has two types of long tail fibers which may bind different receptors. Based on homology and phylogenetic analysis, Sf14 may be the product of multiple horizontal gene transfer events. The structures presented here can be used to investigate further hypotheses of phage structure-function relationships and structural diversity.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07668-x |
| spellingShingle | Sundharraman Subramanian Hailey R. Kerns Samantha G. Braverman Sarah M. Doore The structure of Shigella virus Sf14 reveals the presence of two decoration proteins and two long tail fibers Communications Biology |
| title | The structure of Shigella virus Sf14 reveals the presence of two decoration proteins and two long tail fibers |
| title_full | The structure of Shigella virus Sf14 reveals the presence of two decoration proteins and two long tail fibers |
| title_fullStr | The structure of Shigella virus Sf14 reveals the presence of two decoration proteins and two long tail fibers |
| title_full_unstemmed | The structure of Shigella virus Sf14 reveals the presence of two decoration proteins and two long tail fibers |
| title_short | The structure of Shigella virus Sf14 reveals the presence of two decoration proteins and two long tail fibers |
| title_sort | structure of shigella virus sf14 reveals the presence of two decoration proteins and two long tail fibers |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07668-x |
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