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Pilus Assembly in Gram-Positive Bacteria

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Protein and Sugar Export and Assembly in Gram-positive Bacteria

Part of the book series: Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology ((CT MICROBIOLOGY,volume 404))

Abstract

Pili of Gram-positive bacteria are unique structures on the bacterial surface, assembled from covalently linked polypeptide subunits. Pilus assembly proceeds by transpeptidation reactions catalyzed by sortases, followed by covalent anchoring of the filament in the peptidoglycan layer. Another distinctive property is the presence of intramolecular isopeptide bonds, conferring extraordinary chemical and mechanical stability to these elongated structures. Besides their function in cell adhesion and biofilm formation, this section discusses possible application of pilus constituents as vaccine components against Gram-positive pathogens.

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Abbreviations

BP:

Backbone protein

AP:

Ancillary protein

CWSS:

Cell wall sorting signal

m-Dap:

Meso-2,6-diaminopimelic acid

GAS:

Group A streptococcus (S. pyogenes)

GBS:

Group B streptococcus (S. agalactiae)

MIDAS:

Metal ion-dependent adhesion site

MSCRAMMs:

Microbial surface components recognizing adhesive matrix molecules

PI:

Pilus islet

vWFA:

von Willebrand factor type A domain

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Markus Hilleringmann for critical reading of the manuscript and numerous highly appreciated suggestions.

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    Werner Pansegrau & Fabio Bagnoli

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  1. Werner Pansegrau
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  2. Fabio Bagnoli
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Correspondence to Werner Pansegrau .

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  1. GSK Vaccines , Siena, Siena, Italy

    Fabio Bagnoli

  2. GSK Vaccines , Siena, Italy

    Rino Rappuoli

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Pansegrau, W., Bagnoli, F. (2015). Pilus Assembly in Gram-Positive Bacteria. In: Bagnoli, F., Rappuoli, R. (eds) Protein and Sugar Export and Assembly in Gram-positive Bacteria . Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, vol 404. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/82_2015_5016

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