Involvement of Type IV Pili in Pathogenicity of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria

Abstract

Type IV pili (T4P) are hair-like appendages found on the surface of a wide range of bacteria belonging to the β-, γ-, and δ-Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria and Firmicutes. They constitute an efficient device for a particular type of bacterial surface motility, named twitching, and are involved in several other bacterial activities and functions, including surface adherence, colonization, biofilm formation, genetic material uptake and virulence. Tens of genes are involved in T4P synthesis and regulation, with the majority of them being generally named pil/fim genes. Despite the multiple functionality of T4P and their well-established role in pathogenicity of animal pathogenic bacteria, relatively little attention has been given to the role of T4P in plant pathogenic bacteria. Only in recent years studies have begun to examine with more attention the relevance of these surface appendages for virulence of plant bacterial pathogens. The aim of this review is to summarize the current knowledge about T4P genetic machinery and its role in the interactions between phytopathogenic bacteria and their plant hosts.

Calcium-Enhanced Twitching Motility in Xylella fastidiosa Is Linked to a Single PilY1 Homolog

“…(21)(22)(23). Twitching motility is a key virulence trait for many of these bacteria, and besides this function, TFP are important in cell attachment for epiphytic or endophytic colonization, aggregation, biofilm formation, and DNA transformation (24).…”

“…Several genes involved in TFP biogenesis, function, and regulation have been identified by mutagenesis of model organisms such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (8,24). The filamentous structure of TFP is composed of numerous units of a small protein called pilin, encoded by pilA, which requires the processing of the peptidase/N-methylase PilD to become mature.…”

The ecological role of volatile mediated interactions belowground

“…B Part of Type IVb pili required for adhesion to abiotic surfaces (Bernard et al 2009). C Encode for Type IV pilus biogenesis apparatus (Tomich et al 2007) that is involved in biofilm formation and twitching motility (Burdman et al 2011). D Involved in biogenesis of Type 1 pilus that can facilitate adhesion to biological surfaces (Schilling et al 2001).…”

Genómica comparativa de cepas de Xanthomonas arboricola asociada a Prunus spp.: caracterización de los procesos de infección de la mancha bacteriana de frutales de hueso y almendro

“…B) Representación esquemática de la estructura del pilus tipo IV nombrando las proteínas estructurales mínimas necesarias para su formación. Las proteínas se nombran según la nomenclatura utilizada para Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Burdman et al, 2011).…”

“…Por último las ATPasas PilB y PilT se encargan del ensamblaje y desensamblaje del filamento, que dan lugar a la extensión y retracción del pili respectivamente (Burdman et al, 2011) …”