Species-Specific Recognition of Sulfolobales Mediated by UV-Inducible Pili and S-Layer Glycosylation Patterns

Abstract

Type IV pili can be found on the cell surface of many archaea and bacteria where they play important roles in different processes. The UV-inducible pili system of Sulfolobales (Ups) pili from the crenarchaeal Sulfolobales species are essential in establishing species-specific mating partners, thereby assisting in genome stability. With this work, we show that different Sulfolobus species have specific regions in their Ups pili subunits, which allow them to interact only with cells from the same species. Additionally, different Sulfolobus species have unique surface-layer N- glycosylation patterns. We propose that the unique features of each species allow the recognition of specific mating partners. This knowledge for the first time gives insights into the molecular basis of archaeal self-recognition.