title: Type IV pilus: one architectural problem, many structural solutions.
abstract: Type IV pili are long appendages found at the surface of many bacteria, composed of an oligomerized pilin protein and involved in processes such as adherence, motility and DNA transfer. In this issue of Structure, Piepenbrink and colleagues report the first structure a major pilin from a Gram-positive bacterium, revealing an unprecedented stabilization mechanism that may have implications for pilus evolution.
authors: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Centre for Blood Research, University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada.
authors: Julien R C
authors: JR
authors: Bergeron
authors: National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: nikolaos.sgourakis@nih.gov.
authors: Nikolaos G
authors: NG
authors: Sgourakis
mesh_terms: D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000737:chemistry*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular