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Adhesion pilus retraction powers twitching motility in the thermoacidophilic crenarchaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius

Author

Listed:
  • Arthur Charles-Orszag

    (San Francisco)

  • Marleen Wolferen

    (University of Freiburg)

  • Samuel J. Lord

    (San Francisco)

  • Sonja-Verena Albers

    (University of Freiburg
    University of Freiburg)

  • R. Dyche Mullins

    (San Francisco)

Abstract

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 most bacteria, PilT-family ATPases disassemble adhesion pili, causing them to rapidly retract and produce twitching motility, important for surface colonization. As archaea do not possess PilT homologs, it was thought that archaeal pili cannot retract and that archaea do not exhibit twitching motility. Here, we use live-cell imaging, automated cell tracking, fluorescence imaging, and genetic manipulation to show that the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius exhibits twitching motility, driven by retractable adhesion (Aap) pili, under physiologically relevant conditions (75 °C, pH 2). Aap pili are thus capable of retraction in the absence of a PilT homolog, suggesting that the ancestral type IV pili in the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) were capable of retraction.

Suggested Citation

  • Arthur Charles-Orszag & Marleen Wolferen & Samuel J. Lord & Sonja-Verena Albers & R. Dyche Mullins, 2024. "Adhesion pilus retraction powers twitching motility in the thermoacidophilic crenarchaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-49101-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49101-7
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