The pili of Gram-negative bacteria are long extracellular polymers that mediate diverse functions, such as bacterial attachment, movement and substrate transport. There are five classes of pili in ...

Type IV pili are strong, flexible filaments with varied roles in bacterial pathogenicity. Pilin structures and models are integrated here in a comprehensive review of the molecular basis of the ...

Although pathogenic bacteria often rely on a specialized molecular motor to retract their pili, a new study reveals that a minor pilin protein elicits pilus retraction in the cholera bacterium, Vibrio ...

A new study shows that bacteria need the resistance to pilus retraction that occurs upon contact with a surface in order to sense surfaces and excrete the glue that makes them firmly adhere. Most of ...

Osaka, Japan – Bacterial infectious diseases are still a huge contributor to global disease burden and with antibiotic resistance on the rise worldwide there is an urgent need for novel treatment ...

Northwestern Medicine investigators have identified issues with most genomic sequence data for the Neisseria gonorrhoeae ...

Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified previously unknown genetic mechanisms that promote antimicrobial resistance in gonorrhea, findings that may inform the development of more effective ...

Pili are short, hair-like structures on the cell surface of prokaryotic cells. They can have a role in movement, but are more often involved in adherence to surfaces, which facilitates infection, and ...