Structure of Clostridium difficile PilJ Exhibits Unprecedented Divergence from Known Type IV Pilins

Authors

Kurt H. Piepenbrink, University of Maryland School of MedicineFollow
Grace A. Maldarelli, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Claudia F. Martinez de la Pena, University of Calgary
George L. Mulvey, University of Calgary
Greg A. Snyder, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Leon De Masi, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Erik C. von Rosenvinge, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Sebastian Gunther, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Glen D. Armstrong, University of Calgary
Michael S. Donnenberg, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Eric J. Sundberg, University of Maryland School of MedicineFollow

Date of this Version

2014

Citation

THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY VOL. 289, NO. 7, pp. 4334–4345

Comments

© 2014 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc

DOI 10.1074/jbc.M113.534404

Abstract

Type IV pili are produced by many pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria and are important for processes as diverse as twitching motility, cellular adhesion, and colonization. Recently, there has been an increased appreciation of the ability of Gram-positive species, including Clostridium difficile, to produce Type IV pili. Here we report the first three-dimensional structure of a Grampositive Type IV pilin, PilJ, demonstrate its incorporation into Type IV pili, and offer insights into how the Type IV pili of C. difficile may assemble and function. PilJ has several unique structural features, including a dual-pilin fold and the incorporation of a structural zinc ion. We show that PilJ is incorporated into Type IV pili in C. difficile and present a model in which the incorporation of PilJ into pili exposes the C-terminal domain of PilJ to create a novel interaction surface.