The structure of bacteriophage T4 gene product 9: the trigger for tail contraction.
Kostyuchenko, V.A., Navruzbekov, G.A., Kurochkina, L.P., Strelkov, S.V., Mesyanzhinov, V.V., Rossmann, M.G.(1999) Structure 7: 1213-1222
- PubMed: 10545330 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0969-2126(00)80055-6
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
1QEX, 1S2E - PubMed Abstract: 
The T4 bacteriophage consists of a head, filled with double-stranded DNA, and a complex contractile tail required for the ejection of the viral genome into the Escherichia coli host. The tail has a baseplate to whïch are attached six long and six short tail fibers. These fibers are the sensing devices for recognizing the host. When activated by attachment to cell receptors, the fibers cause a conformational transition in the baseplate and subsequently in the tail sheath, which initiates DNA ejection. The baseplate is a multisubunit complex of proteins encoded by 15 genes. Gene product 9 (gp9) is the protein that connects the long tail fibers to the baseplate and triggers the tail contraction after virus attachment to a host cell.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Shemyakin and Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, 16/10 Miklukho-Maklaya Street, Moscow, 117871, Russia.