title: Visualization of Gram-positive bacterial pili.
abstract: Pili or fimbriae are recognized as essential virulence determinants assembled on the bacterial surface. Gram-positive bacteria produce covalently linked pilus structures that are distinct from gram-negative counterparts. In this chapter, we describe three commonly used techniques to extract, detect, and visualize pili from gram-positive bacteria: (1) Western blot analysis, (2) Immuno-Electron Microscopy, and (3) Atomic Force Microscopy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA. Chungyu.Chang@uth.tmc.edu
authors.forename: Chungyu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: I-Hsiu
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Antoni P A
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Hendrickx
authors.forename: Hung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ton-That
mesh_terms: D015153:Blotting, Western; D002458:Cell Fractionation; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron