Mechanical forces and ligand binding modulate <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> PilY1 mechanosensitive protein.

ABSTRACT: Surface sensing initiates bacterial colonization of substrates. The protein PilY1 plays key roles during this process-surface detection, host adhesion, and motility-while experiencing mechanical perturbations of varying magnitudes. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the adhesion and motility functions of PilY1 are associated with integrin and calcium ligand-binding sites; however, how mechanical forces influence PilY1's dynamics and its interactions with these ligands remain unknown. Here, using single-molecule magnetic tweezers, we reveal that PilY1 is a mechanosensor protein that exhibits different behaviors depending on the force load. At high forces (>20 pN), PilY1 unfolds through a hierarchical sequence of intermediates, whose mechanical stability increases with calcium binding. This e

SUBMITTER: Cao-Garcia FJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11891296 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature