Disease relevance of Pili, Sex

• TrbC propilin is the precursor of the pilin subunit TrbC of IncP conjugative pili in Escherichia coli [1].
• Phage PR772 differs in morphology from the double-stranded DNA plasmid-specific phages PR4 and PRR1 which adsorb to tips and sides, respectively, of sex pili coded for by P-1 incompatibility group plasmids [2].

High impact information on Pili, Sex

• The Escherichia coli RfaH protein is required for the expression of operons directing synthesis and export of the toxin haemolysin, the lipopolysaccharide core, and the F-factor sex pilus [3].
• The stability of this part of the tra-mRNA exceeds 30 minutes and probably increases the rate of expression of the traA gene product propilin, the precursor of the sex pilus subunit [4].
• The implications of these observations to the theory of plasmid maintenance and the evolution of repressible conjugative pili synthesis are discussed [5].
• Heterologous expression of TraC in A. tumefaciens partly compensated for the pilus assembly defect in strains deficient for its homolog VirB5, which further supported its role in assembly of conjugative pili [6].
• Based on recent protein sequence comparisons, the proteins encoded by the virB operon are strikingly similar to proteins involved in the synthesis and assembly of conjugative pili such as the conjugative pilus of F plasmid in Escherichia coli [7].

Biological context of Pili, Sex

• Effect of chlorpromazine on conjugal plasmid transfer and sex pili [8].

Gene context of Pili, Sex

• Localization of TraC, a protein involved in assembly of the F conjugative pilus [9].
• Trypsin digestion of pilin monomers from EDP208 conjugative pili causes cleavage of Lys12 to yield an N-terminal dodecapeptide, ET1 (Mr approximately equal to 1,500), and the remaining C-terminal fragment, ER (Mr approximately equal to 10,000) [10].
• This hypothesis was supported by studies of the formation of sex pili, the only gene product identified that is controlled by the sex repressor of R1 [11].

References