Isopeptide bonds of the major pilin protein BcpA influence pilus structure and bundle formation on the surface of Bacillus cereus

• Published in: Molecular microbiology Vol. 85; no. 1; pp. 152 - 163
• Main Authors: Hendrickx, Antoni P. A., Poor, Catherine B., Jureller, Justin E., Budzik, Jonathan M., He, Chuan, Schneewind, Olaf
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.07.2012; Blackwell
• Subjects: Bacillus cereus; Bacillus cereus - chemistry; Bacillus cereus - genetics; Bacteria; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Catalysts; Chemical bonds; Fimbriae Proteins - chemistry; Fimbriae Proteins - genetics; Fimbriae, Bacterial - chemistry; Fimbriae, Bacterial - ultrastructure; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gram-positive bacteria; Microbiology; Microscopy; Microscopy, Atomic Force; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; Miscellaneous; Mutation; Peptides; Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs; Protein Multimerization; Protein Structure, Tertiary; Bacteria; Pilus; Bacillus cereus; Bacillales; Bacillaceae; Protein

Summary Bacillus cereus strains elaborate pili on their surface using a mechanism of sortase‐mediated cross‐linking of major and minor pilus components. Here we used a combination of electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy to visualize these structures. Pili occur as single, double or higher...