ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2022
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed.
- Review
- Orthogonal microfluidic approaches reveal force-enhanced migration of bacterial populations on surfaces.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Study of wrap mode impact on Pseudomonas aeruginosa motion in the chemotactic field of fungi.NPJ systems biology and applications · 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
- Major type IV pilin ofmBio · 2026Article
- Metal-independent effects of calprotectin on cocultures ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- β-strand complementation within tip initiation complexes licenses assembly of diverse type IV filaments.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Elasticity promotes directional transport ofSoft matter · 2026Article
- Separation ofmBio · 2025Article
- Twitching motility suppressors reveal a role for FimX in type IV pilus extension dynamics.PLoS genetics · 2025Article
- Article
- Antagonistic response regulators spatially regulate receptor methylation in the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Pil-Chp surface sensing system.Cell reports · 2025Article
- Physical communication pathways in bacteria: an extra layer to quorum sensing.Biophysical reviews · 2025Review
- Review
- Shear flow patterns antimicrobial gradients across bacterial populations.Science advances · 2025Article
- Substrate stiffness modulates collective colony expansion of the social bacteriumAPL bioengineering · 2025Article
- Building permits-control of type IV pilus assembly by PilB and its cofactors.Journal of bacteriology · 2024Review
- The surface interface and swimming motility influence surface-sensing responses inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Carbon Source and Substrate Surface Affect Biofilm Formation by the Plant-Associated BacteriumInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The ability of eukaryotic cells to differentiate surface stiffness is fundamental for many processes like stem cell development. Bacteria were previously known to sense the presence of surfaces, but the extent to which they could differentiate stiffnesses remained unclear. Here we establish that the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa actively measures surface stiffness using type IV pili (TFP). Stiffness sensing is nonlinear, as induction of the virulence factor regulator is peaked with stiffness in a physiologically important range between 0.1 kPa (similar to mucus) and 1,000 kPa (similar to cartilage). Experiments on surfaces with distinct material properties establish that stiffness is the specific biophysical parameter important for this sensing. Traction force measurements reveal that the retraction of TFP is capable of deforming even stiff substrates. We show how slow diffusion of the pilin PilA in the inner membrane yields local concentration changes at the base of TFP during extension and retraction that change with substrate stiffness. We develop a quantitative biomechanical model that explains the transcriptional response to stiffness. A competition between PilA diffusion in the inner membrane and a loss/gain of monomers during TFP extension/retraction produces substrate stiffness-dependent dynamics of the local PilA concentration. We validated this model by manipulating the ATPase activity of the TFP motors to change TFP extension and retraction velocities and PilA concentration dynamics, altering the stiffness response in a predictable manner. Our results highlight stiffness sensing as a shared behavior across biological kingdoms, revealing generalizable principles of environmental sensing across small and large cells.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.