Colicin E8

Colicin E3 is a type of Colicin, a bacteriocin made by E. coli which acts against other nearby E. coli to kill them with its DNase Activity; it digests the host's genome at specific locations, ultimately leading to the death of the cell.

Synthesis and releaseSynthesis and release

The ColE8 operon is encoded on a plasmid in the E. coli cell, and includes the gene encoding Im8, its Colicin Immunity Protein. When the colicin has been synthesised, the immunity protein binds to the cytotoxic domain, to protect the colicinogenic cell from the killing activity.