Battling Phages: How Bacteria Defend against Viral Attack

Phage receptors, typically protein, polysaccharide, or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), must not only be present on the surface of the cell, but must be accessible and in a permissive spatial distribution. [...]strategies to prevent phage adsorption include modifying receptor structure through mutation and concealing receptors with an additional physical barrier [4,5]. The Streptococcus thermophilus phage TP-J34 produces the LtpTP-J34 membrane-localized lipoprotein, which is thought to interact with the tape measure protein of other phages [13]. Since the tape measure protein in Siphoviridae is involved in channel formation for DNA passage, LtpTP-J34 blocks the injection process and renders the incoming phage non-infectious.