Helical ultrastructure of the L-ENA spore aggregation factor of a Bacillus paranthracis foodborne outbreak strain.

ABSTRACT: In pathogenic Bacillota, spores can form an infectious particle and can take up a central role in the environmental persistence and dissemination of disease. A poorly understood aspect of spore-mediated infection is the fibrous structures or 'endospore appendages' (ENAs) that have been seen to decorate the spores of pathogenic Bacilli and Clostridia. Current methodological approaches are opening a window on these long enigmatic structures. Using cryoID, Alphafold modelling and genetic approaches we identify a sub-class of robust ENAs in a Bacillus paranthracis foodborne outbreak strain. We demonstrate that L-ENA are encoded by a rare three-gene cluster (ena3) that contains all components for the self-assembly of ladder-like protein nanofibers of stacked heptameric rings, their anchoring to

SUBMITTER: Sleutel M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11362473 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature