Researchers have discovered a tube-shaped structure that forms temporarily in a certain type of virus to deliver its DNA during the infection process and then dissolves after its job is completed. The tube is long enough to span the inner and outer cell membranes of an E. coli bacterium, bridging the “periplasmic space” in between. (Image credit: Lei Sun/Purdue University)
Researchers have discovered a tube-shaped structure that forms temporarily in a certain type of virus to deliver its DNA during the infection process and then dissolves after its job is completed. The virus is pictured here infecting an E. coli cell. The tube attaches to the cell’s inner and outer membranes, bridging the “periplasmic space” in between. (Purdue University image/Lei Sun)