This protein is found as part of contractile injection systems. It is the tape measure protein which dictates the length of the syringe tail. It is found in low copy number [1]. This protein is most likely not present in the mature syringes [1]. Deletion of the tape measure protein Pvc14 resulted in large variations in the length of the syringes [1]. The N and C-termini of these proteins are well conserved, but they have a wide length variation in the central region.

1: Cryo-EM Structure and Assembly of an Extracellular Contractile Injection System. Jiang F, Li N, Wang X, Cheng J, Huang Y, Yang Y, Yang J, Cai B, Wang YP, Jin Q, Gao N; Cell. 2019;177:370-383. PMID:30905475