File:PMID- 26038723-fig-4-Vampirovibrio-chlorellavorus.png

English: Proposed conjugative mechanism of Vampirovibrio chlorellavorus attaching to Chlorella vulgaris
T4SS operons are found on two conjugative plasmids in V. chlorellavorus. The T-strands of the plasmids are predicted to be made single-stranded by plasmid-encoded relaxases (Fig. S4), nicking the DNA at the origin of transfer and transporting the T-strands to the C. vulgaris cell via the mating pair formation. We predict that effector proteins (hydrolytic enzymes) synthesised in the bacterium are also transported via the mating pair formation. The T-strand enters the algal nucleus through a nuclear pore complex and is incorporated into a C. vulgaris chromosome. The effector proteins degrade the algae contents which are transported out of the algal cell via T-strand encoded transporters. The algal lysates are imported into the V. chlorellavorus cell providing energy and nutrients for replication.