Intracellular phage tail-like nanostructures affect osmotic stress susceptibility of Streptomyces lividans

Streptomyces lividans, a model filamentous Gram-positive bacterium with conserved contractile-injection-system gene clusters, makes phage tail-like particles (SLPs) that stay in the cytoplasm instead of being released. Without SLPs, aerial mycelia form later on hyperosmotic solid medium and growth drops in hyperosmotic liquid medium; SLPs are associated with a cytoplasmic protein interaction network that includes ribosomal and cell-wall-related proteins (mSphere, 2023).