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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2003, p. 3695-3700, Vol. 69, No. 7
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.7.3695-3700.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Pilin-Like Proteins in the Extremely Thermophilic Bacterium Thermus thermophilus HB27: Implication in Competence for Natural Transformation and Links to Type IV Pilus Biogenesis

Alexandra Friedrich,1 Judit Rumszauer,1 Anke Henne,2,3 and Beate Averhoff1,3*

Bereich Genetik und Mikrobiologie, Department Biologie I, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, D-80638 Munich,1 Laboratorium für Genomanalyse,2 Institut für Mikrobiologie und Genetik, Georg-August-Universität, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany3

Received 18 December 2002/ Accepted 7 April 2003

The extreme thermophile Thermus thermophilus HB27 exhibits high frequencies of natural transformation. Although we recently reported identification of the first competence genes in Thermus, the molecular basis of DNA uptake is unknown. A pilus-like structure is assumed to be involved. Twelve genes encoding prepilin-like proteins were identified in three loci in the genome of T. thermophilus. Mutational analyses, described in this paper, revealed that one locus, which contains four genes that encode prepilin-like proteins (pilA1 to pilA4), is essential for natural transformation. Additionally, comZ, a new competence gene with no similarity to known genes, was identified. Analysis of the piliation phenotype revealed wild-type piliation of a pilA1-pilA3{Delta}kat mutant and a comZ mutant, whereas a pilA4 mutant was found to be completely devoid of pilus structures. These findings, together with the significant similarity of PilA4 to prepilins, led to the conclusion that the T. thermophilus pilus structures are type IV pili. Furthermore, the loss of the transformation and piliation phenotype in the pilA4 mutant suggests that type IV pili are implicated in natural transformation of T. thermophilus HB27.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department Biologie I, Bereich Genetik und Mikrobiologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Maria-Ward-Strasse 1a, D-80638 Munich, Germany. Phone: 49-89-21806186. Fax: 49-89-21806160. E-mail: B.Averhoff{at}lrz.uni-muenchen.de.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2003, p. 3695-3700, Vol. 69, No. 7
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.7.3695-3700.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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