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Significance One of the unresolved mysteries of tailless bacteriophages is how they recognize potential targets and translocate their genomes across the periplasmic space of their hosts. In this study, bilayers consisting of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) derived from bacterial cells were found to trigger genome ejection from ΦX174. We investigated the structural response of ΦX174 and showed that the phage binds to LPS through one of its pentameric spikes. Dissociation of the spike, followed by conformational changes in the major capsid proteins, cause DNA ejection through preformed tubes consisting of viral H proteins. This unique infection strategy may give ΦX174 and other members of the Microviridae family an evolutionary advantage by allowing them to protect the DNA conduit until a specific target is identified.

Structural changes of tailless bacteriophage ΦX174 during penetration of bacterial cell walls