ArticlePLoS biology2019
Diversification of the type IV filament superfamily into machines for adhesion, protein secretion, DNA uptake, and motility.
Article in PLoS biology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 127 papers.
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Who cites it
127 citing papers in PubMed.
- Fast, flexible gene cluster family delineation with IGUA.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- β-strand addition within tip initiation complexes licenses assembly of diverse type IV filaments.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Structures of the Xcp and Hxc T2SS endopili provide new insights into type IV pili subfamilies.Structure (London, England : 1993) · 2026Article
- Unveiling a missing component of the atypical type IV secretion system required for natural transformation of Helicobacter pylori.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Insight into the relationship between type IV pilus function and biofilm formation.Biochemical Society transactions · 2026Review
- Comparative Genomic Analysis of Pseudomonas shahriarae Reveals Virulence Potential, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Environmental Adaptation.Current microbiology · 2026Article
- Structural modeling reveals the mechanism of motor ATPase coordination during type IV pilus retraction.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- The stoichiometry of minor-to-major pilins regulates the dynamic activity of the type IVa competence pilus in Vibrio cholerae.PLoS genetics · 2026Article
- Secretion systems shaping host-pathogen interactions in Burkholderia species.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2026Review
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- Visualization of Type IV Pili: Linking Structural Architecture, Dynamic Function, and Translational Opportunities.Biology · 2026Review
- Unveiling a missing component of the atypical type IV secretion system required for natural transformation ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Ultrasmall oral Saccharibacteria modulate gingival immunoactivation through type IV pili and TLR2-dependent endocytosis.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Metagenome-assembled genomes from the gut microbiome of spontaneous diabetic macaques provide insights into microbes associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus.BMC microbiology · 2026Article
- Structural insights into the assembly and evolution of a complex bacterial flagellar motor.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- Comparative genomics insights into Pseudomonas rhodesiae: environmental distribution, resistance determinants, virulence factors, and evolutionary implications.BMC genomics · 2026Article
- Role of Tad pili during the transition from planktonic to biofilm state inJournal of bacteriology · 2026Article
- β-strand complementation within tip initiation complexes licenses assembly of diverse type IV filaments.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Type IV pilin regulation: a transcriptional overview.Critical reviews in microbiology · 2026Review
67 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Processes of molecular innovation require tinkering and shifting in the function of existing genes. How this occurs in terms of molecular evolution at long evolutionary scales remains poorly understood. Here, we analyse the natural history of a vast group of membrane-associated molecular systems in Bacteria and Archaea-the type IV filament (TFF) superfamily-that diversified in systems involved in flagellar or twitching motility, adhesion, protein secretion, and DNA uptake. The phylogeny of the thousands of detected systems suggests they may have been present in the last universal common ancestor. From there, two lineages-a bacterial and an archaeal-diversified by multiple gene duplications, gene fissions and deletions, and accretion of novel components. Surprisingly, we find that the 'tight adherence' (Tad) systems originated from the interkingdom transfer from Archaea to Bacteria of a system resembling the 'EppA-dependent' (Epd) pilus and were associated with the acquisition of a secretin. The phylogeny and content of ancestral systems suggest that initial bacterial pili were engaged in cell motility and/or DNA uptake. In contrast, specialised protein secretion systems arose several times independently and much later in natural history. The functional diversification of the TFF superfamily was accompanied by genetic rearrangements with implications for genetic regulation and horizontal gene transfer: systems encoded in fewer loci were more frequently exchanged between taxa. This may have contributed to their rapid evolution and spread across Bacteria and Archaea. Hence, the evolutionary history of the superfamily reveals an impressive catalogue of molecular evolution mechanisms that resulted in remarkable functional innovation and specialisation from a relatively small set of components.
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