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Appl. Environ. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/AEM.02649-06
Copyright (c) 2007, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Assessing adhesion forces of type I and type IV pili of Xylella fastidiosa bacteria using a microfluidic flow chamber

Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, NY 14456 USA, Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: hch1{at}cornell.edu. mw272{at}cornell.edu.

	Abstract

Xylella fastidiosa, a bacterium responsible for Pierce's disease in grapevine, possess both type I and type IV pili at the same cell pole. Type IV pili facilitate twitching motility and type I pili are involved in biofilm development. The adhesiveness of the bacteria and the role of the two pili-types in attachment to a glass substratum were evaluated using a microfluidic flow chamber, in conjunction with pili-defective mutants. The average adhesion force necessary to detach wild-type X. fastidiosa cells was 147±11 pN. Mutant cells possessing only type I pili required a force of 204±22 pN for removal, whereas cells possessing only type IV pili required 119±8 pN to dislodge these cells. The experimental results demonstrate that microfluidic flow chambers are useful and convenient tools for assessing drag forces necessary for detaching bacterial cells, and that with specific pili mutants, the role of the pilus-type can be further assessed.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• De La Fuente, L., Burr, T. J., Hoch, H. C. (2008). Autoaggregation of Xylella fastidiosa Cells Is Influenced by Type I and Type IV Pili. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 5579-5582 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• De La Fuente, L., Burr, T. J., Hoch, H. C. (2007). Mutations in Type I and Type IV Pilus Biosynthetic Genes Affect Twitching Motility Rates in Xylella fastidiosa. J. Bacteriol. 189: 7507-7510 [Abstract] [Full Text]