Item

Abstract

Type IVa pili (T4aP) are important for bacterial motility, adhesion, biofilm formation and virulence. This versatility is based on their cycles of extension, adhesion, and retraction. The conserved T4aP machine (T4aPM) drives these cycles, however the piliation pattern varies between species. To understand how these patterns are established, we focused on the T4aPM in Myxococcus xanthus that assembles following an outside-in pathway, starting with the polar incorporation of the PilQ secretin forming a multimeric T4aP conduit in the outer membrane. We demonstrate that PilQ recruitment to the nascent poles initiates during cytokinesis, but most is recruited to the new poles in the daughters after completion of cytokinesis. This recruitment depends on the peptidoglycan-binding AMIN domains in PilQ. Moreover, the pilotin Tgl stimulates PilQ multimerization in the outer membrane, is transiently recruited to the nascent and new poles in a PilQ-dependent manner, and dissociates after completion of secretin assembly. Altogether, our data support a model whereby PilQ polar recruitment and multimerization occur in two steps: The PilQ AMIN domains bind septal and polar peptidoglycan, thereby enabling polar Tgl localization, which then stimulates secretin multimerization in the outer membrane. Using computational analyses, we provide evidence for a conserved mechanism of T4aPM pilotins whereby the pilotin transiently interacts with the unfolded β-lip, i.e. the region that eventually inserts into the outer membrane, of the secretin monomer. Finally, we suggest that the presence/absence of AMIN domain(s) in T4aPM secretins determines the different T4aPM localization patterns across bacteria.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.