Natural competence, the physiological state wherein bacteria produce proteins that mediate
extracellular DNA transport into the cytosol and the subsequent recombination of DNA into …

Most microbial cells found in nature exist in matrix-covered, surface-attached communities
known as biofilms. This mode of growth is initiated by the ability of the microbe to sense a …

Amongst the major types of archaeal filaments, several have been shown to closely
resemble bacterial homologues of the Type IV pili (T4P). Within Sulfolobales, member …

The first step in the process of bacterial natural transformation is DNA capture. Although long
hypothesized based on genetics and functional experiments, the pilus structure responsible …

Bacteriophages put intense selective pressure on microbes, which must evolve diverse
resistance mechanisms to survive continuous phage attacks. We used a library of …

Type IV pili are filamentous appendages found in most bacteria and archaea, where they
can support functions such as surface adhesion, DNA uptake, aggregation, and motility. In …

Diverse bacterial species use type IVa pili (T4aP) to interact with their environments. The
dynamic extension and retraction of T4aP is critical for their function, but the mechanisms …

ABSTRACT JD Zuke, R. Erickson, KR Hummels, and BM Burton (J Bacteriol 205: e00156-
23, 2023, https://doi. org/10.1128/jb. 00156-23) have shown that transforming DNA is …

Retraction of the pathogenic Neisseria Type IV pilus (Tfp) requires PilT, the primary
retraction motor, and its paralogs PilU and PilT2. The importance of Tfp retraction for natural …

Dairy mastitis is one of the most common diseases in dairy farming, and the formation of
pathogenic bacteria biofilms may be an important reason why traditional antibiotic therapy …