Article
Structure of the Bacterial Sex F Pilus Reveals an
Assembly of a Stoichiometric Protein-Phospholipid
Complex
Graphical Abstract
Highlights
d The atomic structures of the F pilus and an F-like pilus are
solved by cryo-EM
d The structure reveals an assembly of a protein-phospholipid
complex unit
d Mutations at subunit-lipid interfaces affect phage infection
and conjugation
d The structure elucidates the molecular basis for DNA transfer
and phage attachment
Authors
Tiago R.D. Costa, Aravindan Ilangovan,
Marta Ukleja, ..., Terry K. Smith,
Edward H. Egelman, Gabriel Waksman
Correspondence
[email protected] (E.H.E.),
[email protected] (G.W.)
In Brief
Conjugative pili, the appendages that
enable DNA transfer between bacteria,
are not made only of protein but, as near-
atomic resolution cryoEM reveals, are
assemblies of stoichiometric protein-
phospholipid units, with the phospholipid
component suited to electrochemically
facilitating DNA transport.
Data Resources
5LEG
5LFB
5LER
Costa et al., 2016, Cell 166 , 1436โ1444
September 8, 2016ยช2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.08.025