December 2020 Cover Image

The Rex phenotype is the exclusion of T4rII infection in Escherichia coli lysogenized by bacteriophage lambda. Since its discovery by Seymour Benzer over six decades ago, the mechanism behind the phenotype remains unknown. Alattas et al identify key E. coli host genes vital to the manifestation of Rex by examining T4rII and T4 infection across rex+ single gene knockouts. This image is a whimsical depiction of T4rII infection. Two T4rII phages strategize on top of a map of the “E. coli oceans”, which shows a “Rex” ship they need to combat. Various gene names central to Rex can be seen on the map. Courtesy of Shirley Wong and figures 3D-printed by Jacob Ehrhardt. See Alattas, Wong, and Slavcev pp. 1087–1102.