Archaic chaperone-usher pili self-secrete into superelastic zigzag springs.

ABSTRACT: Adhesive pili assembled through the chaperone-usher pathway are hair-like appendages that mediate host tissue colonization and biofilm formation of Gram-negative bacteria^1-3. Archaic chaperone-usher pathway pili, the most diverse and widespread chaperone-usher pathway adhesins, are promising vaccine and drug targets owing to their prevalence in the most troublesome multidrug-resistant pathogens^1,4,5. However, their architecture and assembly-secretion process remain unknown. Here, we present the cryo-electron microscopy structure of the prototypical archaic Csu pilus that mediates biofilm formation of Acinetobacter baumannii-a notorious multidrug-resistant nosocomial pathogen. In contrast to the thick helical tubes of the classical type 1 and P pili, archaic pili assem

SUBMITTER: Pakharukova N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9452303 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature