DNA-uptake pili of Vibrio cholerae are required for chitin colonization and capable of kin recognition via sequence-specific self-interaction.

ABSTRACT: How bacteria colonize surfaces and how they distinguish the individuals around them are fundamental biological questions. Type IV pili are a widespread and multipurpose class of cell surface polymers. Here we directly visualize the DNA-uptake pilus of Vibrio cholerae, which is produced specifically during growth on its natural habitat-chitinous surfaces. As predicted, these pili are highly dynamic and retract before DNA uptake during competence for natural transformation. Interestingly, DNA-uptake pili can also self-interact to mediate auto-aggregation. This capability is conserved in disease-causing pandemic strains, which typically encode the same major pilin subunit, PilA. Unexpectedly, however, we discovered that extensive strain-to-strain variability in PilA (present in environmental

SUBMITTER: Adams DW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6708440 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature