Archaeal Tetrathionate Hydrolase Goes Viral: Secretion of a Sulfur Metabolism Enzyme in the Form of Virus-Like Particles

Zusammenfassung

In the course of screening for virus-host systems in extreme thermal environments, we have isolated a strain of the hyperthermophilic archaeaon Acidianus hospitalis producing unusual filamentous particles with a zipper-like appearance. The particles were shown to represent a secreted form of a genuine cellular enzyme, tetrathionate hydrolase, involved in sulfur metabolism.