Electron cryo-microscopy reveals the structure of the archaeal thread filament

Matthew C. Gaines, Michail N. Isupov, Shamphavi Sivabalasarma, Risat Ul Haque, Mathew McLaren, Clara L. Mollat, Patrick Tripp, Alexander Neuhaus, Vicki A. M. Gold, Sonja-Verena Albers and Bertram Daum ()
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Matthew C. Gaines: University of Exeter
Michail N. Isupov: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter
Shamphavi Sivabalasarma: University of Freiburg
Risat Ul Haque: University of Exeter
Mathew McLaren: University of Exeter
Clara L. Mollat: University of Freiburg
Patrick Tripp: University of Freiburg
Alexander Neuhaus: University of Exeter
Vicki A. M. Gold: University of Exeter
Sonja-Verena Albers: University of Freiburg
Bertram Daum: University of Exeter

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Pili are filamentous surface extensions that play roles in bacterial and archaeal cellular processes such as adhesion, biofilm formation, motility, cell-cell communication, DNA uptake and horizontal gene transfer. The model archaeaon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius assembles three filaments of the type-IV pilus superfamily (archaella, archaeal adhesion pili and UV-inducible pili), as well as a so-far uncharacterised fourth filament, named “thread”. Here, we report on the cryo-EM structure of the archaeal thread. The filament is highly glycosylated and consists of subunits of the protein Saci_0406, arranged in a head-to-tail manner. Saci_0406 displays structural similarity, but low sequence homology, to bacterial type-I pilins. Thread subunits are interconnected via donor strand complementation, a feature reminiscent of bacterial chaperone-usher pili. However, despite these similarities in overall architecture, archaeal threads appear to have evolved independently and are likely assembled by a distinct mechanism.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34652-4

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