A review on pilus assembly mechanisms in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria

The surface of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria contains long hair-like proteinaceous protrusion known as pili or fimbriae. Historically, pilin proteins were considered to play a major role in the transfer of genetic material during bacterial conjugation. Recent findings however elucidate th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cell surface (Amsterdam) 2022-12, Vol.8, p.100077-100077, Article 100077
Main Authors: Shanmugasundarasamy, Tamilarasi, Karaiyagowder Govindarajan, Deenadayalan, Kandaswamy, Kumaravel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacteria
bacteriophages
biofilm
fimbriae
genetic conjugation
pathogenesis
Pili
Pili assembly
Pili termination
Pilin subunits
virulence
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Summary:The surface of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria contains long hair-like proteinaceous protrusion known as pili or fimbriae. Historically, pilin proteins were considered to play a major role in the transfer of genetic material during bacterial conjugation. Recent findings however elucidate their importance in virulence, biofilm formation, phage transduction, and motility. Therefore, it is crucial to gain mechanistic insights on the subcellular assembly of pili and the localization patterns of their subunit proteins (major and minor pilins) that aid the macromolecular pilus assembly at the bacterial surface. In this article, we review the current knowledge of pilus assembly mechanisms in a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including subcellular localization patterns of a few pilin subunit proteins and their role in virulence and pathogenesis.
ISSN:2468-2330
2468-2330
DOI:10.1016/j.tcsw.2022.100077