Fig. 6: Averaged 3D structures of tail fibers.

a 3D superimposed structure of tail fibers in pre-infection phages. 89 tail-fibers structures of pre-infection phages were aligned and averaged. The right image shows the side view of the structure after rotation by 90°. Both the outer box and red line are scale bars with pixel unit. The outer square box size is 200 pixels, pixel size is 1.312 nm. The size of the tail-fiber structure is ~137.8 nm in length, 78.7 nm in height, and 104.9 nm in thickness. b 3D superimposed structure of tail fibers in post-infection phages. 338 tail-fiber structures of post-infection phages attached to host were aligned and averaged. The tail-fiber structure resembles a flattened disc. The size is 177.1 nm in length, 118.1 nm in height, and 65.6 nm in thickness. c Schematic diagram of phage sheath (purple), inner tube (yellow), and structure of tail fibers (cyan). Here we defined the height, length, and thickness of the structure.