Organelles as virulence factors of an opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Type IV pili (T4P) and flagellum are well known virulence factors of an opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. T4P pili provide twitching motility, adherence to biotic/abiotic surfaces, intercellular association that is essential to biophilm formation, and are implicated in chemotaxis, bacteriophage adsorption and DNA uptake. Flagellum provides swimming/swarming motilities and chemotaxis, adhesion and biofilm formation. Both T4P and flagellum play a central role in virulence and host invasion, and induction of innate and adaptive immune response. Structure, assembly, functions of T4P and flagellum and their role in host defense are the the subjects of the review.