Observation of bacterial type I pili extension and contraction under fluid flow.

Type I pili are proteinaceous tethers that mediate bacterial adhesion of uropathogenic Escherichia coli to surfaces and are thought to help bacteria resist drag forces imparted by fluid flow via uncoiling of their quaternary structure. Uncoiling and recoiling have been observed in force spectroscopy...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Dilia E Rangel, Nathaly Marín-Medina, Jaime E Castro, Andrés González-Mancera, Manu Forero-Shelton
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3683016?pdf=render