DNA-uptake pilus of Vibrio cholerae capable of kin-discriminated auto-aggregation

Abstract

Natural competence for transformation is a widely used and key mode of horizontal gene transfer that can foster rapid bacterial evolution. Competent bacteria take-up DNA from their environment using Type IV pili, a widespread and multi-purpose class of cell surface polymers. However, how pili facilitate DNA-uptake has remained unclear. Here, using direct labelling, we show that in the Gram-negative pathogen Vibrio cholerae DNA-uptake pili are highly dynamic and that they retract prior to DNA-uptake. Unexpectedly, these pili can self-interact to mediate auto-aggregation of cells into macroscopic structures. This phenotype is conserved in disease causing pandemic strains. However, extensive strain-to-strain variability in the major pilin subunit PilA, present in environmental isolates, controls the ability of pili to interact without affecting transformation. We go on to show that interactions between pili are highly specific, enabling cells producing pili composed of different PilA subunits to discriminate between one another. On chitin surfaces, a natural habitat of V. cholerae, pili connect cells within dense networks, suggesting a model whereby DNA-uptake pili function to promote inter-bacterial interactions during surface colonisation. Moreover, our results provide evidence that type IV pili could provide a simple and potentially widespread mechanism for bacterial kin recognition.