ArticlePLoS genetics2022
The differential expression of PilY1 proteins by the HsfBA phosphorelay allows twitching motility in the absence of exopolysaccharides.
Article in PLoS genetics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Discovery of PilU as a second type IV pilus retraction motor inJournal of bacteriology · 2026Article
- PilY proteins: bimodular drivers of type IV pilus versatility.Trends in microbiology · 2026Review
- Article
- Diversity, classification, and evolution of myxobacterial PilY1 proteins.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- Article
- Milestones in the development ofJournal of bacteriology · 2025Review
- Tad pili with adaptable tips mediate contact-dependent killing during bacterial predation.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Functional investigation of Zur in metal ion homeostasis, motility and multiple stresses resistance in cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.Stress biology · 2025Article
- Combinatorial control of type IVa pili formation by the four polarized regulators MglA, SgmX, FrzS, and SopA.Journal of bacteriology · 2024Article
- Deciphering the enigmatic PilY1 ofBiochemistry and biophysics reports · 2024Article
- Tight-packing of large pilin subunits provides distinct structural and mechanical properties for theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Mechanism of assembly of type 4 filaments: everything you always wanted to know (but were afraid to ask).Microbiology (Reading, England) · 2023Review
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Type Four Pili (T4P) are extracellular appendages mediating several bacterial functions such as motility, biofilm formation and infection. The ability to adhere to substrates is essential for all these functions. In Myxococcus xanthus, during twitching motility, the binding of polar T4P to exopolysaccharides (EPS), induces pilus retraction and the forward cell movement. EPS are produced, secreted and weakly associated to the M. xanthus cell surface or deposited on the substrate. In this study, a genetic screen allowed us to identify two factors involved in EPS-independent T4P-dependent twitching motility: the PilY1.1 protein and the HsfBA phosphorelay. Transcriptomic analyses show that HsfBA differentially regulates the expression of PilY1 proteins and that the down-regulation of pilY1.1 together with the accumulation of its homologue pilY1.3, allows twitching motility in the absence of EPS. The genetic and bioinformatic dissection of the PilY1.1 domains shows that PilY1.1 might be a bi-functional protein with a role in priming T4P extension mediated by its conserved N-terminal domain and roles in EPS-dependent motility mediated by an N-terminal DUF4114 domain activated upon binding to Ca2+. We speculate that the differential transcriptional regulation of PilY1 homologs by HsfBA in response to unknown signals, might allow accessorizing T4P tips with different modules allowing twitching motility in the presence of alternative substrates and environmental conditions.
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