Chain formation mediated by Escherichia coli immunoglobulin-binding proteins EibD and EibG depends on expression levels and localization of proteins
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Escherichia coli expresses immunoglobulin-binding proteins (Eib), a subgroup of trimeric autotransporter adhesins (TAA). Subtypes of Eib proteins mediate unique chain-like adherence patterns and autoaggregation. This study investigates the mechanisms underlying chain formation by EibG and EibD; a chain-forming phenotype of the latter has not been previously described. Using constitutive expression systems, we demonstrate that moderate-level expression of EibG and EibD lead primarily to chain formation, whereas higher expression levels predominantly result in clump formation. Notably, chain and clump formation are not mutually exclusive and can occur simultaneously. Selective deletion of the full head domain, but not the N-terminal domain alone, abolished chain formation, highlighting its critical role. Fluorescence microscopy of mixed cultures showed that chains form through homotypic protein-protein interactions. Investigation revealed EibD and EibG were predominantly localized at cell poles, corresponding to sites of intercellular contact. Functional investigations showed that chain-forming strains exhibited enhanced adhesion to plastic surfaces, a key step in biofilm formation, without affecting autoaggregation. These showed Eib-mediated chain formation depends on protein expression levels, domain architecture, and localization, contributing to bacterial adhesion and potentially pathogenicity. Understanding interactions provides insights into TAA-mediated chain formation and autoaggregation.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".