Figure 10-7: The lambda holin kills without warning. At t = 0, cells tethered to a microscope slide by anti-flagellin antibodies were induced for the expression of the plasmid pS105(A52G), which carries the ??lysis cassette, including the S(A52G) early lysis allele, under the control of its cognate promoter, pR’. Single frames chosen from the recordings of a representative cell are depicted here to illustrate the saltatory nature of holin killing. Starting from the time point indicated to the left of the panel, single frames were captured every 200 msec. After induction of the lysis genes, the tethered cells rotate at high and constant speed (first row). About 20 min after induction, rotation of the cell abruptly slows and stops completely within 1 to 3 sec (second row). Cell lysis, due to digestion of the cell wall by the lambda R endolysin, occurs within several sec after the sudden stop in rotation (third and fourth rows). Adapted from Gründling et al. (55), with permission.