Pili in Gram-positive bacteria: assembly, involvement in colonization and biofilm development

Various cell-surface multisubunit protein polymers, known as pili or fimbriae, have a pivotal role in the colonization of specific host tissues by many pathogenic bacteria. In contrast to Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria assemble pili by a distinct mechanism involving a transpeptidase...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in microbiology (Regular ed.) 2008-01, Vol.16 (1), p.33-40
Main Authors: Mandlik, Anjali, Swierczynski, Arlene, Das, Asis, Ton-That, Hung
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adhesins, Bacterial - physiology
Bacterial Infections - microbiology
Biofilms - growth & development
Fimbriae, Bacterial - physiology
Gram-Positive Bacteria - physiology
Internal Medicine
Models, Biological
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Summary:Various cell-surface multisubunit protein polymers, known as pili or fimbriae, have a pivotal role in the colonization of specific host tissues by many pathogenic bacteria. In contrast to Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria assemble pili by a distinct mechanism involving a transpeptidase called sortase. Sortase crosslinks individual pilin monomers and ultimately joins the resulting covalent polymer to the cell-wall peptidoglycan. Here we review current knowledge of this mechanism and the roles of Gram-positive pili in the colonization of specific host tissues, modulation of host immune responses and the development of bacterial biofilms.
ISSN:0966-842X
1878-4380
DOI:10.1016/j.tim.2007.10.010