Motility and adhesion through type IV pili in Gram-positive bacteria

Piepenbrink, Kurt H.; Sundberg, Eric J.

doi:10.1042/bst20160221

Cited by 73 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Symbiosis requires machinery for cell‐to‐cell contact between the interacting partners. The T4P constitutes a system for cell adhesion, biofilm formation, motility, secretion and DNA uptake (Bahar, Goffer, & Burdman, ; Piepenbrink & Sundberg, ). It was shown that T4P assists host colonization by a gut symbiont (Powell, Leonard, Kwong, Engel, & Moran, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomic signatures and co‐occurrence patterns of the ultra‐small Saccharimonadia (phylum CPR/Patescibacteria) suggest a symbiotic lifestyle

et al. 2019

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The size of bacterial genomes is often associated with organismal metabolic capabilities determining ecological breadth and lifestyle. The recently proposed Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR)/Patescibacteria encompasses mostly unculturable bacterial taxa with relatively small genome sizes with potential for co‐metabolism interdependencies. As yet, little is known about the ecology and evolution of CPR, particularly with respect to how they might interact with other taxa. Here, we reconstructed two novel genomes (namely, Candidatus Saccharibacter sossegus and Candidatus Chaer renensis) of taxa belonging to the class Saccharimonadia within the CPR/Patescibacteria using metagenomes obtained from acid mine drainage (AMD). By testing the hypothesis of genome streamlining or symbiotic lifestyle, our results revealed clear signatures of gene losses in these genomes, such as those associated with de novo biosynthesis of essential amino acids, nucleotides, fatty acids and cofactors. In addition, co‐occurrence analysis provided evidence supporting potential symbioses of these organisms with Hydrotalea sp. in the AMD system. Together, our findings provide a better understanding of the ecology and evolution of CPR/Patescibacteria and highlight the importance of genome reconstruction for studying metabolic interdependencies between unculturable Saccharimonadia representatives.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomic signatures and co‐occurrence patterns of the ultra‐small Saccharimonadia (phylum CPR/Patescibacteria) suggest a symbiotic lifestyle

et al. 2019

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“…However, most bacteria exist in close association with substrates and developed a variety of tools to mediate motion over a wide range of surfaces such as hulls of ships [3], medical catheters [4] and within the human body [5,6]. Many bacteria, both gram-negative (such as Neisseria meningitidis [7], Pseudomonas aeruginosa [8][9][10] and Myxococcus xanthus [11]) and grampositive (such as Clostridium difficile [12,13]), use socalled type IV pili for the motion over substrates and attachment to other cells. Pili are several microns long filaments that emerge from the surface of cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How bacterial cells and colonies move on solid substrates

2019

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Many bacteria rely on active cell appendages, such as type IV pili, to move over substrates and interact with neighboring cells. Here, we study the motion of individual cells and bacterial colonies, mediated by the collective interactions of multiple pili. It was shown experimentally that the substrate motility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae cells can be described as a persistent random walk with a persistence length that exceeds the mean pili length. Moreover, the persistence length increases for a higher number of pili per cell. With the help of a simple, tractable stochastic model, we test whether a tug-of-war without directional memory can explain the persistent motion of single Neisseria gonorrhoeae cells. While persistent motion of single cells indeed emerges naturally in the model, a tug-of-war alone is not capable of explaining the motility of microcolonies, which becomes weaker with increasing colony size. We suggest sliding friction between the microcolonies and the substrate as the missing ingredient. While such friction almost does not affect the general mechanism of single cell motility, it has a strong effect on colony motility. We validate the theoretical predictions by using a three-dimensional computational model that includes explicit details of the pili dynamics, force generation and geometry of cells.

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“…Much of the knowledge on the biology of Tfp was generated from studies on Gram-negative pathogens (10), in which Tfp are often critical for their pathogenic capacity. Recent advances in genomic sequencing have led to the discovery that the pil cluster is also present in Gram-positive bacteria (11,12). Tfp in Gram-positive bacteria exhibit biological functions similar to those seen in Gram-negative bacteria, including adherence to both biotic and abiotic surfaces, surface-dependent twitching motility, and DNA uptake in naturally competent bacteria.…”

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confidence: 99%

Molecular and Functional Analysis of the Type IV Pilus Gene Cluster in Streptococcus sanguinis SK36

Chen

Chiang

Tseng

et al. 2019

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Streptococcus sanguinis, dominant in the oral microbiome, is the only known streptococcal species possessing a pil gene cluster for the biosynthesis of type IV pili (Tfp). Although this cluster is commonly present in the genome of S. sanguinis, most of the strains do not express Tfp-mediated twitching motility. Thus, this study was designed to investigate the biological functions encoded by the cluster in the twitching-negative strain S. sanguinis SK36. We found that the cluster was transcribed as an operon, with three promoters located 5= to the cluster and one in the intergenic region between SSA_2307 and SSA_2305. Studies using promoter-cat fusion strains revealed that the transcription of the cluster was mainly driven by the distal 5= promoter, which is located more than 800 bases 5= to the first gene of the cluster, SSA_2318. Optimal expression of the cluster occurred at the early stationary growth phase in a CcpA-dependent manner, although a CcpA-binding consensus is absent in the promoter region. Expression of the cluster resulted in a short hairlike surface structure under transmission electron microscopy. Deletion of the putative pilin genes (SSA_2313 to SSA_2315) abolished the biosynthesis of this structure and significantly reduced the adherence of SK36 to HeLa and SCC-4 cells. Mutations in the pil genes downregulated biofilm formation by S. sanguinis SK36. Taken together, the results demonstrate that Tfp of SK36 are important for host cell adherence, but not for motility, and that expression of the pil cluster is subject to complex regulation. IMPORTANCE The proteins and assembly machinery of the type IV pili (Tfp) are conserved throughout bacteria and archaea, and yet the function of this surface structure differs from species to species and even from strain to strain. As seen in Streptococcus sanguinis SK36, the expression of the Tfp gene cluster results in a hairlike surface structure that is much shorter than the typical Tfp. This pilus is essential for the adherence of SK36 but is not involved in motility. Being a member of the highly diverse dental biofilm, perhaps S. sanguinis could more effectively utilize this structure to adhere to host cells and to interact with other microbes within the same niche.

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Motility and adhesion through type IV pili in Gram-positive bacteria

Cited by 73 publications

References 57 publications

Genomic signatures and co‐occurrence patterns of the ultra‐small Saccharimonadia (phylum CPR/Patescibacteria) suggest a symbiotic lifestyle

Genomic signatures and co‐occurrence patterns of the ultra‐small Saccharimonadia (phylum CPR/Patescibacteria) suggest a symbiotic lifestyle

How bacterial cells and colonies move on solid substrates

Molecular and Functional Analysis of the Type IV Pilus Gene Cluster in Streptococcus sanguinis SK36

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