— Employing a proof technique suggested by Zannier and first successfully implemented by Pila and Zannier to give a reproof of the Manin-Mumford conjecture on algebraic relations on torsion points of an abelian variety, Pila presented an unconditional proof of the André-Oort conjecture when the ambient Shimura variety is a product of modular curves. In subsequent works, these results have been ...

We expose a theorem of Pila and Wilkie on counting rational points in sets definable in o-minimal structures and some applications of this theorem to problems in diophantine geometry due to Masser, Peterzil, Pila, Starchenko, and Zannier.

The type IV pili (T4P) is a major virulence factor of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) that is associated with primary adhesion, biofilm formation and twitching motility. This study focuses on the introduction of a novel biologically active subunit vaccine derived from the disulfide loop (DSL) of P. aeruginosa pilin. We investigated the expression of the novel PilA in-frame with pET26a ve...

The virulence of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa involves the coordinate expression of many virulence factors, including type IV pili, which are required for colonization of host tissues and for twitching motility. Type IV pilus function is controlled in part by the Chp chemosensory system, which includes a histidine kinase, ChpA, and two CheY-like response regulators, PilG an...

A type 1 pilus-deficient mutant of a systemically invasive Escherichia coli K1 strain was constructed by directed mutagenesis of pilA, the gene that codes for the major structural subunit of type 1 pili. By comparing this mutant with an isogenic pilA+ strain, we were able to assess the role of type 1 piliation in alimentary tract colonization and bloodstream invasion in neonatal rats. Intestina...

Findings from a number of studies suggest that the PilA pilin proteins may play an important role in the pathogenesis of disease caused by species within the genus Francisella. As such, a thorough understanding of PilA structure and chemistry is warranted. Here, we definitively identified the PglA protein-targeting oligosaccharyltransferase by virtue of its necessity for PilA glycosylation in F...

The conductive pili of Geobacter species play an important role in electron transfer to Fe(III) oxides, in long-range electron transport through current-producing biofilms, and in direct interspecies electron transfer. Although multiple lines of evidence have indicated that the pili of Geobacter sulfurreducens have a metal-like conductivity, independent of the presence of c-type cytochromes, th...

The genetic organization of the gene cluster containing pilA, the structural gene for type IV pilin of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as the accessory genes pilB, pilC, and pilD, has been studied. DNA sequences capable of initiating transcription when fused to a promoterless lacZ gene have been identified in the pilA-pilB and pilB-pilC intergenic regions. Unlike pilA, which requires rpoN (enco...

The plasma membrane is implicated in a variety of functions, whose coordination necessitates highly dynamic organization of its constituents into domains of distinct protein and lipid composition. Eisosomes, at least partially, mediate this lateral plasma membrane compartmentalization. In this work, we show that the Nce102 homologue of Aspergillus nidulans colocalizes with eisosomes and plays a...

Streptococcus agalactiae is a common human commensal and a major life-threatening pathogen in neonates. Adherence to host epithelial cells is the first critical step of the infectious process. Pili have been observed on the surface of several gram-positive bacteria including S. agalactiae. We previously characterized the pilus-encoding operon gbs1479-1474 in strain NEM316. This pilus is compose...