title: Type IV pili and twitching motility.
abstract: Twitching motility is a flagella-independent form of bacterial translocation over moist surfaces. It occurs by the extension, tethering, and then retraction of polar type IV pili, which operate in a manner similar to a grappling hook. Twitching motility is equivalent to social gliding motility in Myxococcus xanthus and is important in host colonization by a wide range of plant and animal pathogens, as well as in the formation of biofilms and fruiting bodies. The biogenesis and function of type IV pili is controlled by a large number of genes, almost 40 of which have been identified in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A number of genes required for pili assembly are homologous to genes involved in type II protein secretion and competence for DNA uptake, suggesting that these systems share a common architecture. Twitching motility is also controlled by a range of signal transduction systems, including two-component sensor-regulators and a complex chemosensory system.
authors.affiliation: ARC Special Research Centre for Functional and Applied Genomics, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld. 4072, Australia. j.mattick@imb.uq.edu.au
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Mattick
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000502:physiology; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction