page_title: Escherichia virus CC31
section_title: Pathogenesis
hierarchical_section_title: Escherichia virus CC31 / Pathogenesis
caption_attribution_description: English: Phage Injection and Replication
context_page_description: Escherichia virus CC31, formerly known as Enterobacter virus CC31, is a dsDNA bacteriophage of the subfamily Tevenvirinae responsible for infecting the bacteria family of Enterobacteriaceae. It is one of two discovered viruses of the genus Karamvirus, diverging away from the previously discovered T4virus, as a clonal complex. CC31 was first isolated from Escherichia coli B strain S/6/4 and is primarily associated with Escherichia, even though is named after Enterobacter.
context_section_description: In order for viral genomic replication to occur, CC31 needs to enter the host, Escherichia coli. Due to the lack of an outer envelope, the virion must find an alternate way to enter its host. It does this by penetrating the membrane of the bacterium with its tail region.  First, the long tail fibers ejecting from the top of the base plate attach to the cell membrane of the bacterium. The small tail fibers underneath base plate then attach to the membrane, initiating a conformational change of the base plate to a six-point star from the previous hexagon conformation. This forces the sheath to undergo a conformational change to contract and effectively stretching the membrane. While this is occurring, the rigid tube underneath the sheath remains stagnant to push against the membrane. Digestion of the inner membrane occurs with the assistance of the tail's lysozymes. As this continues, the inner tube breaks through the membrane and allows the viral DNA to flow into the cytoplasm of the bacterium.
caption: Insertion and replication of viral genome in bacterium by Tevenvirinae
exif: {}