Original title: Ffp1, an ancestral Porphyromonas spp. fimbrillin
Authors: Luis A Acuña-Amador,Frederique Hubler
In this article, the authors explore the presence and characteristics of fimbriae, which are hair-like structures used for attachment, in the Porphyromonas genus. They focus on a specific adhesin called Ffp1, which is involved in the production of outer membrane vesicles (OMV). Using bioinformatic analysis and 3D modeling, they determine that Ffp1 is the only fimbrillin found in all Porphyromonas genomes analyzed. Interestingly, Ffp1 is more structurally similar to a fimbriae in a different bacterium, Bacteroides ovatus, than to other fimbriae in Porphyromonas species. The findings suggest that Ffp1 represents ancestral fimbriae present in all Porphyromonas species. However, further research is needed to understand the biogenesis of Ffp1 fimbriae and its potential role in OMV production and adaptation to different environments. The authors declare no competing interests.
Original article: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.08.570808v1