ArticlePloS one2017
The role of core and accessory type IV pilus genes in natural transformation and twitching motility in the bacterium Acinetobacter baylyi.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 60 citations in OpenAlex.
- The stoichiometry of minor-to-major pilins regulates the dynamic activity of the type IVa competence pilus in Vibrio cholerae.PLoS genetics · 2026Article
- Twitching Motility Dynamics in the Wilt-Causing Phytopathogen Ralstonia solanacearum.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2026Article
- Genome evolution ofApplied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Beyond FimH: Diversity and Relevance of Carbohydrate-Binding Fimbrial Proteins in Escherichia coli.Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology · 2025Review
- The role of PilU in the surface behaviors ofmLife · 2025Article
- Molecular mechanisms and applications of natural transformation in bacteria.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Review
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- Psychrotrophic Bacteria Equipped with Virulence and Colonization Traits Populate the Ice Cream Manufacturing Environment.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2023Article
- Type IV Pilus-Mediated Inhibition ofMicrobiology spectrum · 2023Article
- Testing for the fitness benefits of natural transformation during community-embedded evolution.Microbiology (Reading, England) · 2023Article
- Feature architecture aware phylogenetic profiling indicates a functional diversification of type IVa pili in the nosocomial pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii.PLoS genetics · 2023Article
- Two antagonistic response regulators control Pseudomonas aeruginosa polarization during mechanotaxis.The EMBO journal · 2023Article
- Phenotypic Characterization and Heterogeneity among Modern Clinical Isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii.Microbiology spectrum · 2023Article
- Complete functional analysis of type IV pilus components of a reemergent plant pathogen reveals neofunctionalization of paralog genes.PLoS pathogens · 2023Article
- Bacterial Motility and Its Role in Skin and Wound Infections.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Subcellular localization of type IV pili regulates bacterial multicellular development.Nature communications · 2022Article
- Retraction ATPase Motors from Three Orthologous Type IVa Pilus Systems Support Promiscuous Retraction of the Vibrio cholerae Competence Pilus.Journal of bacteriology · 2022Article
- The molecular basis of FimT-mediated DNA uptake during bacterial natural transformation.Nature communications · 2022Article
- Natural transformation in Gram-negative bacteria thriving in extreme environments: from genes and genomes to proteins, structures and regulation.Extremophiles : life under extreme conditions · 2021Review
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Here we present an examination of type IV pilus genes associated with competence and twitching in the bacterium Acinetobacter baylyi (strain ADP1, BD413). We used bioinformatics to identify potential competence and twitching genes and their operons. We measured the competence and twitching phenotypes of the bioinformatically-identified genes. These results demonstrate that competence and twitching in A. baylyi both rely upon a core of the same type IV pilus proteins. The core includes the inner membrane assembly platform (PilC), a periplasmic assemblage connecting the inner membrane assembly platform to the secretin (ComM), a secretin (ComQ) and its associated pilotin (PilF) that assists with secretin assembly and localization, both cytoplasmic pilus retraction ATPases (PilU, PilT), and pilins (ComP, ComB, PilX). Proteins not needed for both competence and twitching are instead found to specialize in either of the two traits. The pilins are varied in their specialization with some required for either competence (FimT) and others for twitching (ComE). The protein that transports DNA across the inner membrane (ComA) specializes in competence, while signal transduction proteins (PilG, PilS, and PilR) specialize in twitching. Taken together our results suggest that the function of accessory proteins should not be based on homology alone. In addition the results suggest that in A. baylyi the mechanisms of natural transformation and twitching are mediated by the same set of core Type IV pilus proteins with distinct specialized proteins required for each phenotype. Finally, since competence requires multiple pilins as well as both pilus retraction motors PilU and PilT, this suggests that A. baylyi employs a pilus in natural transformation.
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