Discovery and demonstration of functional type IV pili production and post-translational modification by a medically relevant Acinetobacter species
Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: Acinetobacter nosocomialis is a member of the Acinetobacter calcoaceticusbaumannii complex, which are Gram-negative opportunistic pathogens of increasing relevance worldwide.Medically relevant Acinetobacter species form biofilms, are resistant to desiccation, and easily acquire antibiotic resistance genes, all of which contribute to its ability to cause disease.Despite many reports on the epidemiology and antibiotic resistance phenotypes of Acinetobacter, there are limited reports characterizing the virulence mechanisms of these important nosocomial pathogens.Type IV pili (Tfp) are transenvelope protein complexes that can act as surface appendages mediating many bacterial processes.Analysis of the genomes of fully sequenced medically relevant Acinetobacter strains reveals the presence of genes that encode proteins predicted to be involved with the biogenesis of Tfp.Furthermore, many medically relevant Acinetobacter species have been shown to exhibit twitching motility and natural transformation, two classical Tfp-associated phenotypes.Therefore we utilized mutagenesis strategies to selectively delete genes encoding proteins predicted to be involved in Tfp biogenesis and probed for Tfp functionality.In our analysis we determined that A. nosocomialis strain M2 did produce functional Tfp, which were required for natural transformation and twitching motility.During the course of our studies we also identified that the major pilin subunit, PilA, of the Tfp fiber was giving me my first opportunity to work in a research lab.You believed in me and that provided me with the confidence I needed to pursue graduate school.Thanks to my committee, Amal Amer, Larry Schlesinger, and Dan Wozniak for not sugar coating my project and its problems
Author: Christian M. Harding
Institution: The Ohio State University
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2519105441