Type IV pili of Enterobacteriaceae species

Abstract

Type IV pili (T4Ps) are surface filaments widely distributed among bacteria and archaea. T4Ps are involved in many cellular functions and contribute to virulence in some species of bacteria. Due to the diversity of T4Ps, different properties have been observed for homologous proteins that make up T4Ps in various organisms. In this review, we highlight the essential components of T4Ps, their functions, and similarities to related systems. We emphasize the unique T4Ps of enteric pathogens within the Enterobacteriaceae family, which includes pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli and Salmonella . These include the bundle-forming pilus (BFP) of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), longus (Lng) and colonization factor III (CFA/III) of enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), T4P of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, Colonization Factor Citrobacter (CFC) of Citrobacter rodentium , T4P of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis , a ubiquitous T4P that was characterized in enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), and the R64 plasmid thin pilus. Finally, we highlight areas for further study.

Revolutionizing Molecular Cloning: Introducing FastCloneAssist, a Streamlined Python Tool for Optimizing Primer Design in Restriction & Ligation-Independent PCR Cloning

“…The FastCloning method was very useful to our ongoing mutagenesis project where we were creating various chimera genes and mutant to explore the biophysical properties of a set of proteins, BfpE, BfpD, BfpC, BfpB and BfpU from the enteropathogenic E. coli type IV pilus, known as the Bundle forming pilus (BFP) [12,13]. The method reduced the total time and cost of chimera/ mutant creation.…”