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Type IV pili (T4P) are ubiquitous and versatile bacterial cell surface structures involved in adhesion to host cells, biofilm formation, motility, and DNA uptake. In Gram-negative bacteria, T4P pass the outer membrane (OM) through the large, oligomeric, ring-shaped secretin complex. In the β-proteobacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the native PilQ secretin ring embedded in OM sheets is surrounded by an additional peripheral structure, consisting of a peripheral ring and seven extending spikes. To unravel proteins important for formation of this additional structure, we identified proteins that are present with PilQ in the OM. One such protein, which we name T4P secretin-associated protein (TsaP), was identified as a phylogenetically widely conserved component of the secretin complex that co-occurs with genes for T4P in Gram-negative bacteria. TsaP contains an N-terminal carbohydrate-binding lysin motif (LysM) domain and a C-terminal domain of unknown function. In N. gonorrhoeae, lack of TsaP results in the formation of membrane protrusions containing multiple T4P, concomitant with reduced formation of surface-exposed T4P. Lack of TsaP did not affect the oligomeric state of PilQ, but resulted in loss of the peripheral structure around the PilQ secretin. TsaP binds peptidoglycan and associates strongly with the OM in a PilQ-dependent manner. In the δ-proteobacterium Myxococcus xanthus, TsaP is also important for surface assembly of T4P, and it accumulates and localizes in a PilQ-dependent manner to the cell poles. Our results show that TsaP is a novel protein associated with T4P function and suggest that TsaP functions to anchor the secretin complex to the peptidoglycan.

Type IV pili (T4P) are ubiquitous bacterial cell surface structures, involved in processes such as twitching motility, biofilm formation, bacteriophage infection, surface attachment, virulence, and natural transformation. T4P are assembled by machinery that can be divided into the outer membrane pore complex, the alignment complex that connects components in the inner and outer membrane, and the motor complex in the inner membrane and cytoplasm. Here, we characterize the inner membrane platform protein PilC, the cytosolic assembly ATPase PilB of the motor complex, and the cytosolic nucleotide-binding protein PilM of the alignment complex of the T4P machinery of Myxococcus xanthus. PilC was purified as a dimer and reconstituted into liposomes. PilB was isolated as a monomer and bound ATP in a non-cooperative manner, but PilB fused to Hcp1 of Pseudomonas aeruginosa formed a hexamer and bound ATP in a cooperative manner. Hexameric but not monomeric PilB bound to PilC reconstituted in liposomes, and this binding stimulated PilB ATPase activity. PilM could only be purified when it was stabilized by a fusion with a peptide corresponding to the first 16 amino acids of PilN, supporting an interaction between PilM and PilN(1-16). PilM-N(1-16) was isolated as a monomer that bound but did not hydrolyze ATP. PilM interacted directly with PilB, but only with PilC in the presence of PilB, suggesting an indirect interaction. We propose that PilB interacts with PilC and with PilM, thus establishing the connection between the alignment and the motor complex.Type IV pili (T4P) 3 are versatile surface structures that are important for various processes, including twitching motility, biofilm formation, bacteriophage infection, surface attachment, virulence, and natural transformation. T4P are found on the surfaces of a wide variety of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and archaea (1-3). T4P systems (T4PS) are related to type II secretion systems (T2SS), which are responsible for the secretion of proteins across the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria (4, 5), bacterial competence systems that are involved in the uptake of DNA (6), and systems that are involved in the assembly of archaeal surface structures (7).T4P are highly dynamic structures that undergo cycles of extension and retraction (8, 9). During extensions, the T4P assembly ATPase PilB stimulates the extraction of pilin monomers from the inner membrane (IM) and their incorporation at the base of the pilus fiber. The fiber has a diameter of ϳ6 nm and can extend up to several micrometers in length (10). During retractions, the T4P disassembly ATPase PilT stimulates the removal of pilin monomers from the base of the pilus and their reinsertion into the IM (9, 11). T4P retraction generates forces up to 150 piconewtons (12, 13), pulling a cell forward, and making T4P systems the strongest molecular motors known.The rod-shaped cells of the ␦-proteobacterium Myxococcus xanthus, assemble 5-10 T4P at the leading cell pole that extend and retract to generate cell movemen...

The effect on local plaque formation of a varnish containing 1% chlorhexidine and 1% thymol (Cervitec®) was evaluated. Ten volunteers with clinically healthy oral conditions were asked to refrain from any kind of oral hygiene measures for three periods of three days. Undisturbed plaque formation was recorded during the first experimental period. At the beginning of the second period, the varnish was applied to six vestibular enamel surfaces and removed after 1 h. The third experimental period was initiated 12 weeks after varnish application to assess a potential long-term effect. During each period of plaque formation, samples were collected from the vestibular surfaces after 24 h (from teeth 15/25), after 48 h (from teeth 14/24) and after 72 h (from teeth 13/23), respectively, and evaluated for total microscopic bacterial counts (BC) and colony forming units (CFU). Microbial vitality was assessed by the plating efficiency [PE = (CFU/ BC) × 100] and directly by a vital fluorescence (VF) technique. VF of 48- and 72-hour plaque was significantly reduced after Cervitec application. An inhibitory effect by Cervitec could not be discerned 12 weeks after varnish treatment.

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