Yersinia pseudotuberculosis harbors a type IV pilus gene cluster that contributes to pathogenicity.

ABSTRACT: Fimbriae have been shown to play an essential role in the adhesion of pathogenic gram-negative bacteria to host cells. In the enteroinvasive bacterium Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, we characterized a previously unknown 11-kb chromosomal locus involved in the synthesis of type IV pili. The locus consists of 11 open reading frames forming a polycistronic unit and encoding putative Pil proteins, PilLMNOPQRSUVW. When introduced into Escherichia coli, the Y. pseudotuberculosis operon reconstituted bundles of filaments at a pole on the bacterial surface, demonstrating that the pil locus was functional in a heterogenous genetic background. Environmental factors regulated transcription of the Y. pseudotuberculosis operon; in particular, temperature, osmolarity, and oxygen tension were critical cues

SUBMITTER: Collyn F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC130390 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature