Overview of VirB2-like pili forming proteins. A) Cartoon of VirB2-like proteins visualizing their membrane insertion and assembly into a pilus (slice-through) on top of VirB6, a central protein of the inner-membrane complex. Figure adapted from Paillard et al, 2025 1. B) AlphaFold model of PrgF alongside characterized VirB2-like proteins from R388 (PDB ID: 8S6H) and pTi (PDB ID: 8CUE). Dotted lines indicate the approximate location of the membrane. C) Overview of the PrgFB2-PrgHB6 AlphaFold model, with 5 PrgHB6 in black, 4 PrgFB2 from one helical rise in pink and the remaining 16 PrgFB2 in grey. The dotted lines indicate the approximate location of the membrane. D) Comparison of the PrgFB2 pili model (as in C) with the determined structures of the pili from R388 and pTi (PDB codes as in B).
🧵2/6 How?
We identified a VirB2-like protein in the Enterococcus faecalis 🦠 #T4SS plasmid pCF10, which was long thought to lack such pili components. We found that this protein is essential for conjugation 🧫, which spreads #antibioticresistance and other virulence factors.
