Open AccessMechanotaxis directs Pseudomonas aeruginosa twitching motility
Author(s) -
Marco Kühn,
Lorenzo Talà,
Yuki F. Inclán,
Ramiro Patino,
Xavier Pierrat,
Iscia Vos,
Zainebe Al-Mayyah,
Henriette Macmillan,
José Negrete,
Joanne N. Engel,
Alexandre Persat
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2101759118
Subject(s) - pseudomonas aeruginosa , chemotaxis , motility , microbiology and biotechnology , mutant , pilus , extracellular , biology , chemistry , biophysics , bacteria , escherichia coli , biochemistry , genetics , receptor , gene
Significance Single cells across kingdoms of life explore, prey, escape, or congregate using surface-specific motility. Motile eukaryotic cells use chemotaxis to direct migration on surfaces. However, how bacteria control surface motility remains underexplored.Pseudomonas aeruginosa twitches on surfaces by successive extension and retraction of extracellular filaments called type IV pili. Here, we show thatP. aeruginosa directs twitching by sensing mechanical input generated by type IV pili. The Chp sensory system performs spatially resolved mechanosensing by harnessing two response regulators with antagonistic functions. Our results demonstrate that sensory systems, whose input often remains elusive, can sense mechanical signals to actively steer motility. Furthermore, Chp establishes a signaling principle shared with higher-order organisms, identifying a conserved strategy to transduce spatially resolved signals.