Figure 9. Baseplate/tail organization in the T4 phage versus the T6SS .

1. Structure of the sheath/baseplate complex of the bacteriophage T4, adapted from Kostyuchenko et al (2003). A colour code with corresponding gp protein is provided. The proposed corresponding homologue in the T6SS is indicated with parentheses.
2. The T4 bacteriophage baseplate organization versus a putative T6SS baseplate working model. Schematic representation (adapted from Aksyuk et al, 2009b) of the T4 bacteriophage baseplate/tail complex (left) and a putative similar T6SS structure (right). The protein–protein interaction network of both, T4 phage and T6SS is shown with grey lines. The interactions between T6SS proteins found in this work are shown with black lines.