Analysis of pilus biogenesis genes in bacteria expressing type iv pili

Abstract

The structural and sequences similarities of type-IV pili proteins were analysed in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Vibrio cholerae, Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Pathogenic Neisseria species possess pili-genes that code structural and assembly proteins of type-IV pili. A collection of assembly proteins reveal homology amongst P. aeruginosa and Neisseria. While in V. cholerae, these proteins ensure functional counterparts. The pilus retraction and assembly ATPases, PilB/PilF and PilT, PilU are homologous in Neisseria and P. aeruginosa, whereas V. cholerae holds only one ATPase called TcpT. In this work only type-IV pilus machinery of P. aeruginosa shows high likeness with pathogenic Neisseria.

Keywords

• type iv pilus genes
• sequence similarity
• pilus machinery
• schematic overview