ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2023
The F pilus serves as a conduit for the DNA during conjugation between physically distant bacteria.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Unveiling a missing component of the atypical type IV secretion system required for natural transformation of Helicobacter pylori.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Article
- Phospholipid-independent biogenesis and function of the RP4 conjugation pilus.Nature communications · 2026Article
- The Ti Plasmid-Encoded VirJ Functions as a Lysyl-Phosphatidylglycerol Hydrolase in Agrobacterium tumefaciens.Molecular microbiology · 2026Article
- TraN variants mediate conjugation species specificity of IncA/C, IncH, andJournal of bacteriology · 2026Article
- Molecular kinetics dictate population dynamics in CRISPR-based plasmid defense.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Unveiling a missing component of the atypical type IV secretion system required for natural transformation ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Targeting Microorganisms in Lignocellulosic Biomass to Produce Biogas and Ensure Sanitation and Hygiene.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- Type IV Secretion System Drives Lipid Mixing.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Type IV secretion systems: reconciling diversity through a unified nomenclature.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2026Review
- Structure of the conjugation surface exclusion protein TraT.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Type IV secretion systems: from structures to mechanisms.The EMBO journal · 2025Review
- The assembly of a hybrid type IV secretion system by a Crohn's disease-associated Escherichia coli strain.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Fluid flow generates bacterial conjugation hot spots by increasing the rate of shear-driven cell-cell encounters.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- The extended mobility of plasmids.Nucleic acids research · 2025Review
- Cryo-EM Structure of the relaxosome, a complex essential for bacterial mating and the spread of antibiotic resistance genes.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Cryo-EM structure of the conjugation H-pilus reveals the cyclic nature of the TrhA pilin.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Inner membrane components of the plasmid pKM101 type IV secretion system TraE and TraD are DNA-binding proteins.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Encounter rates and engagement times limit the transmission of conjugative plasmids.PLoS genetics · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Horizontal transfer of F-like plasmids by bacterial conjugation is responsible for disseminating antibiotic resistance and virulence determinants among pathogenic Enterobacteriaceae species, a growing health concern worldwide. Central to this process is the conjugative F pilus, a long extracellular filamentous polymer that extends from the surface of plasmid donor cells, allowing it to probe the environment and make contact with the recipient cell. It is well established that the F pilus can retract to bring mating pair cells in tight contact before DNA transfer. However, whether DNA transfer can occur through the extended pilus has been a subject of active debate. In this study, we use live-cell microscopy to show that while most transfer events occur between cells in direct contact, the F pilus can indeed serve as a conduit for the DNA during transfer between physically distant cells. Our findings enable us to propose a unique model for conjugation that revises our understanding of the DNA transfer mechanism and the dissemination of drug resistance and virulence genes within complex bacterial communities.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.