Gut microbes can form appendages known as F-pili that link the cells to one another and move antibiotic resistance genes. It was once thought that the gastrointestinal tract was a harsh environment ...

This work is a continuation of previous research published in 2020, when Zeng's team found a phage that can similarly break off the pili of E. coli cells, preventing the bacteria from sharing ...

The phages in the study can only infect their hosts when the bacterial cells have special appendages, called pili and flagella, that help the bacteria move and mate.

Depiction of bacteriophage PP7 (orange) at the cell surface of Pseudomonas aeruginosa detaching the bacterium’s pilus (blue). The researchers identified protein structures and interactions using ...

Gut bacteria form extracellular appendages called F-pili to connect to each other and transfer packets of DNA, called genes, that allow them to resist antibiotics.

Pili in V. cholerae can stretch about as far as the length of the bacteria. The organisms make one or two pili a minute, extending and retracting the appendages with proteins that quickly build ...

One of the most devastating bacterial infections is Cholera, caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae, which has been in its 7 th ongoing pandemic since 1961.