Donor-strand exchange drives assembly of the TasA scaffold in Bacillus subtilis biofilms

Abstract

Fibres formed by protein TasA are important components of the extracellular matrix in biofilms developed by the bacterium Bacillus subtilis. Here, Böhning et al. use electron cryomicroscopy and other techniques to show how TasA globular monomers assemble through donor-strand exchange into β-sheet-rich fibres, which in turn assemble into bundles.