Intracellular Phage Tail-Like Nanostructures Affect Susceptibility of Streptomyces lividans to Osmotic Stress

Abstract

Recent bioinformatic analyses have revealed that CIS-related gene clusters are highly conserved in Gram-positive actinomycetes, especially members of the genus Streptomyces known for their ability to produce therapeutic antibiotics. While typical CISs are released from the cells and can act as protein translocation systems that inject effector proteins into the target cells, our results indicate the unique intracellular localization of SLPs, CIS-related nanostructures produced by S. lividans . In addition, the direct and indirect interactions of SLPs with cytoplasmic proteins and SLP localization within specific regions of mycelia suggest that the biological significance of SLPs is related to intracellular processes.