Prokaryotes have engineered sophisticated surface nanomachines that have allowed them
to colonize Earth and thrive even in extreme environments. Filamentous machineries …

Type IV pili are filaments on the surfaces of many Gram-negative bacteria that mediate an
extraordinary array of functions, including adhesion, motility, microcolony formation and …

Cultivation-independent surveys of microbial diversity have revealed many bacterial phyla
that lack cultured representatives. These lineages, referred to as candidate phyla, have …

SUMMARY Type IV pili (T4P) are surface-exposed fibers that mediate many functions in
bacteria, including locomotion, adherence to host cells, DNA uptake (competence), and …

Gonococci undergo frequent and efficient natural transformation. Transformation occurs so
often that the population structure is panmictic, with only one long‐lived clone having been …

ABC ATPases form one of the largest clades of P-loop NTPase fold enzymes that catalyze
ATP-hydrolysis and utilize its free energy for a staggering range of functions from transport to …

Abstract The Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) is a large group of bacteria, the scale of
which approaches that of all other bacteria. CPR organisms are inferred to depend on other …

Bacteria can swim in liquid media by flagellar rotation and can move on surfaces via gliding
or twitching motility. One type of gliding motility involves the extension, attachment and …

ABSTRACT Type IV pili (T4P) are dynamic surface structures that undergo cycles of
extension and retraction. T4P dynamics center on the PilB and PilT proteins, which are …

Bacterial type IV pili are critical for diverse biological processes including horizontal gene
transfer, surface sensing, biofilm formation, adherence, motility, and virulence. These …