Structural insights into the Thermus thermophilus type IV pilus machinery assembling two distinct pili
Type IV pili are long, filamentous structures that extend from bacterial cell surfaces, enabling cells to respond to changing environments and facilitating genome plasticity. Thermus thermophilus HB27 produces two different type IV pili, each exhibiting distinct structural and functional properties. Here, we combine cryo-electron tomography, mutagenesis, and AlphaFold predictions to generate hypothetical in situ models of the T. thermophilus type IV pilus assembly machinery. Using single-particle cryo-electron microscopy, we determine structures of both filament types, enabling modelling of their surface glycans. Molecular dynamics simulations further reveal the flexibility of these glycans on extrusion. Integration of the filament structures with our hypothetical model of the assembly machinery offers a framework for further dissecting T4P architecture and biogenesis.
Authors
- Cyril Hanus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4012-6092)
- Michail N. Isupov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6842-4289)
- Matthew C. Gaines (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4163-6350)
- Emma Buzzard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2648-8046)
- Alexander Neuhaus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0477-3281)
- Mathew McLaren (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6636-7409)
- Mateusz Sikora (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1691-4045)
- Beate Averhoff (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1460-3649)
- Bertram Daum (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3767-264X)
- Vicki A. M. Gold (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6908-0745)
Institutions
- Goethe University Frankfurt (DE)
- Jagiellonian University (PL)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Inserm (FR)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- University of Münster (DE)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (US)
- Diamond Light Source (GB)
- Max Planck Institute of Biophysics (DE)
- Institut de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences de Paris (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Biology
- Published
- 2026-03-31
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-09762-0
- Primary Topic
- Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Diamond Light Source
- Leverhulme Trust
- European Commission
- University of Bristol
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
- Austrian Science Fund
- Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
- Directorate for Biological Sciences
- Medical Research Council
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council