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The best offense is a good defense

Nature Structural Biology volume 6, pages 295–297 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

How does a cell employ a lethal toxin against neighboring cells of the same species, yet provide nearly perfect protection for itself? Two new structures offer insights into the nature of interactions between bacterial colicin toxins and the 'immunity' proteins that inhibit their activity.

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Figure 1: Cell killing by the E group family of DNase colicins.
Figure 2: Structure of the DNase colicin E9-Im9 complex3.
Figure 3: Expanded view of protein–protein interface shown in Fig. 2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, 47907-1392, Indiana, USA

    William A. Cramer, Magdalen Lindeberg & Ross Taylor

Authors
  1. William A. Cramer
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  2. Magdalen Lindeberg
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  3. Ross Taylor
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Cramer, W., Lindeberg, M. & Taylor, R. The best offense is a good defense. Nat Struct Mol Biol 6, 295–297 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/7520

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