UNLABELLED Pilus operons encode a pivotal host-microbe interaction structure that is vital for pathogenicity, colonization and adhesion. LOCP is a computational tool to quickly test whether or not the genome of a gram-positive bacterium of interest or some DNA-contig in a metagenomic sample hold pilus operons. Predictions are made based on distinctive motifs of pilus-related protein sequences a...

Type IV pili are an efficient and versatile device for bacterial surface motility. They are widespread among the beta-, gamma-, and delta-proteobacteria and the cyanobacteria. Within that diversity, there is a core of conserved proteins that includes the pilin (PilA), the motors PilB and PilT, and various components of pilus biogenesis and assembly, PilC, PilD, PilM, PilN, PilO, PilP, and PilQ....

We isolated the genetic determinant of AF/R1 pilus production in attaching/effacing Escherichia coli RDEC-1 and identified seven genes required for pilus expression and function. DNA sequence analysis of the structural subunit gene afrA corrected an error in the published sequence and extended homology with the F18 pilus subunit of pig edema E. coli strains. AfrB and AfrC, encoded downstream fr...

BACKGROUND Pili in Streptococcus pneumoniae have been shown to be one of the adherence factors for epithelial cells in the human upper respiratory tract. Two types of pilus-like structures (pilus islet-1 and pilus islet-2) have been distinguished in S. pneumoniae. OBJECTIVES To investigate the presence of pilus islet-1 (PI-1) in S. pneumoniae and the correlation between our isolates. MATERI...

Klebsiella sp. cause a wide range of human infections, particularly nosocomial septicaemia, pneumonia and urinary tract infections. Like other Enterobacteriaceae, Klebsiella are likely to possess plastic genomes comprised of core regions interspersed with horizontally acquired genomic islands. As phenylalanine tRNA genes are known to be occupied by islands in other Enterobacteriaceae, we utiliz...

Citation: Pietrocola G, Arciola CR, Rindi S, Montanaro L and Speziale P (2018) Streptococcus agalactiae Non-Pilus, Cell Wall-Anchored Proteins: Involvement in Colonization and Pathogenesis and Potential as Vaccine Candidates. Front. Immunol. 9:602. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.00602 Streptococcus agalactiae Non-Pilus, Cell wall-Anchored Proteins: involvement in Colonization and Pathogenesis and Pote...

Adherence to host cells is important in microbial colonization of a mucosal surface, and Streptococcus pneumoniae adherence was significantly enhanced by expression of an extracellular pilus composed of three subunits, RrgA, RrgB and RrgC. We sought to determine which subunit(s) confers adherence. Bacteria deficient in RrgA are significantly less adherent than wild-type organisms, while overexp...

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli associated with human diarrheal disease utilize any of a limited group of serologically distinguishable pili for attachment to intestinal cells. These include CS1 and CFA/I pili. We show here that chemical modification of arginyl residues in CS1 pili abolishes CS1-mediated agglutination of bovine erythrocytes, which serves as a model system for attachment. Alani...

Pathogenic bacteria assemble a variety of adhesive structures on their surface for attachment to host cells. Some of these structures are quite complex. For example, the hair-like organelles known as pili or fimbriae are generally composed of several components and often exhibit composite morphologies. In gram-negative bacteria assembly of pili requires that the subunits cross the cytoplasmic m...

The recognition that attachment of pathogenic Neisseria to human mucosal surfaces involves specific interactions between polymeric filaments called pili and host cell receptors (1-4) has suggested new approaches to the immunoprophylaxis of meningococcal and gonococcal disease. Pili are present on meningococci and gonococci isolated from human mucosal surfaces (3, 4) and are found on meningococc...