Suppression of an absolute defect in Type IV pilus biogenesis by loss-of-function mutations in pilT, a twitching motility gene in Neisseria gonorrhoeae
AUTOR(ES)
Wolfgang, Matthew
FONTE
The National Academy of Sciences
RESUMO
Type IV pili of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the Gram-negative etiologic agent of gonorrhea, facilitate colonization of the human host. Gonococcal PilT, a protein belonging to a large family of molecules sharing a highly conserved nucleotide binding domain motif, has been shown to be dispensable for organelle biogenesis but essential for twitching motility and competence for genetic transformation. Here, we show that the defect in pilus biogenesis resulting from mutations in the pilC gene, encoding a putative pilus-associated adhesin for human tissue, can be suppressed by the absence of functional PilT. These data conclusively demonstrate that PilT influences the Type IV pilus biogenesis pathway and strongly suggest that organelle expression is a dynamic process. In addition, these findings imply that PilT antagonizes the process of organelle biogenesis and provide the basis for a model for how the counteractive roles of PilT and PilC might relate mechanistically to the phenomenon of twitching motility.
ACESSO AO ARTIGO
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=24560Documentos Relacionados
- Requirement of Novel Competence Genes pilT and pilU of Pseudomonas stutzeri for Natural Transformation and Suppression of pilT Deficiency by a Hexahistidine Tag on the Type IV Pilus Protein PilAI
- Identification, localization, and distribution of the PilT protein in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
- Aquifex aeolicus PilT, Homologue of a Surface Motility Protein, Is a Thermostable Oligomeric NTPase
- Genes Required for Plasmid R64 Thin-Pilus Biogenesis: Identification and Localization of Products of the pilK, pilM, pilO, pilP, pilR, and pilT Genes
- Role of BfpF, a Member of the PilT Family of Putative Nucleotide-Binding Proteins, in Type IV Pilus Biogenesis and in Interactions between Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and Host Cells