Cryo-EM Structure of the R388 plasmid conjugative pilus reveals a helical polymer characterised by an unusual pilin/phospholipid binary complex

Bacterial conjugation is a process by which DNA is transferred unidirectionally from a donor cell to a recipient cell. It is the main means by which antibiotics resistance genes spread among bacterial populations. It is crucially dependent upon the elaboration of an extracellular appendage, termed “pilus”, by a large double-membrane spanning secretion system termed conjugative “type IV secretion system”. Here we present the structure of the conjugative pilus encoded by the R388 plasmid. We demonstrate that, as opposed to all conjugative pili produced so far for cryo-EM structure determination, that encoded by the R388 plasmid is greatly stimulated by the presence of recipient cells. Comparison of its cryo-EM structure with existing conjugative pilus structures highlights a number of important differences between the R388 pilus structure and that of its homologues, the most prominent being the highly distinctive conformation of its bound lipid.