Pilus biogenesis of Gram‐positive bacteria: Roles of sortases and implications for assembly

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Abstract
Successful adherence, colonization, and survival of Gram‐positive bacteria require surface proteins, and multiprotein assemblies called pili. These surface appendages are attractive pharmacotherapeutic targets and understanding their assembly mechanisms is essential for identifying a new class of ‘anti‐infectives’ that do not elicit microbial resistance. Molecular details of the Gram‐negative pilus assembly are available indepth, but the Gram‐positive pilus biogenesis is still an emerging field and investigations continue to reveal novel insights into this process. Pilus biogenesis in Gram‐positive bacteria is a biphasic process that requires enzymes called pilus‐sortases for assembly and a housekeeping sortase for covalent attachment of the assembled pilus to the peptidoglycan cell wall. Emerging structural and functional data indicate that there are at least two groups of Gram‐positive pili, which require either the Class C sortase or Class B sortase in conjunction with LepA/SipA protein for major pilin polymerization. This observation suggests two distinct modes of sortase‐mediated pilus biogenesis in Gram‐positive bacteria. Here we review the structural and functional biology of the pilus‐sortases from select streptococcal pilus systems and their role in Gram‐positive pilus assembly.

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