A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä
Antiparallel stacking of Csu pili drives Acinetobacter baumannii 3D biofilm assembly
Tekijät: Malmi, Henri; Pakharukova, Natalia; Paul, Bindusmita; Tuittila, Minna; Ahmad, Irfan; Knight, Stefan David; Uhlin, Bernt Eric; Ghosal, Debnath; Zavialov, Anton V.
Kustantaja: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Julkaisuvuosi: 2026
Lehti: Nature Communications
Artikkelin numero: 2508
Vuosikerta: 17
Numero: 1
eISSN: 2041-1723
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-68860-z
Julkaisun avoimuus kirjaamishetkellä: Avoimesti saatavilla
Julkaisukanavan avoimuus : Kokonaan avoin julkaisukanava
Verkko-osoite: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-68860-z
Rinnakkaistallenteen osoite: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/515594977
Rinnakkaistallenteen lisenssi: CC BY
Rinnakkaistallennetun julkaisun versio: Kustantajan versio
Many Gram-negative nosocomial pathogens rely on adhesive filaments, known as archaic chaperone-usher pili, to establish stress- and drug-resistant, multi-layered biofilms. Here, we uncover the mechanism by which these pili build three-dimensional (3D) biofilm architectures. In situ analyses of Acinetobacter baumannii biofilms using electron microscopy (EM) reveal an extensive network of ultrathin, flat stacks of archaic Csu pili interconnecting bacterial cells in 3D space. Cryo-EM structures of a single native pilus, pilus pairs, and two types of multi-pilus stacks show that the pili pack into antiparallel sheets, with their rods connected laterally by junctions at their zigzag corners. This antiparallel arrangement ensures that contacts form primarily between pili from interacting cells rather than pili from the same cell. With a remarkably short helical repeat, archaic chaperone-usher pili spontaneously establish a high density of junctions that determines the biofilm’s 3D architecture. Our findings may help develop new therapies against multidrug-resistant bacterial infections by targeting pilus-pilus interactions.
Ladattava julkaisu This is an electronic reprint of the original article. |  |
Julkaisussa olevat rahoitustiedot:
This work was supported by grants from the Academy of Finland (321762 and 360760) and S. Juselius Foundation (2023) to A.V.Z.; NHMRC (APP1196924) and The Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics Foundation to D.G.; the Swedish Research Council (SRC) (2019-01720), Kempestiftelserna (SMK21-0076) and The Faculty of Medicine, Umeå University (Insamlingsstiftelsen grant 2021-2023) to B.E.U.; SRC (2020-06136) to I.A.; and an Instrumentarium Science Foundation and a Finnish Cultural Foundation stipends to H.M.
