Large pilin subunits provide distinct structural and mechanical properties for the type IV pilus.

Type IV pili (T4P) are ubiquitous bacterial cell surface filaments important for surface motility, adhesion to biotic and abiotic surfaces, DNA uptake, biofilm formation, and virulence. T4P are built from thousands of copies of the major pilin subunit and tipped by a complex composed of minor pilins and in some systems also the PilY1 adhesin. While the major pilins of structurally characterized T4P have lengths of up to 161 residues, the major pilin PilA of is unusually large with 208 residues. All major pilins have a highly conserved N-terminal domain and a highly variable C-terminal domain, and the additional residues in the PilA are due to a larger C-terminal domain. We solved the structure of the T4P (T4P ) at a resolution of 3.0 Å using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The T4P follows the structural blueprint observed in other T4P with the pilus core comprised of the extensively interacting N-terminal α1-helices while the globular domains decorate the T4P surface. The atomic model of PilA built into this map shows that the large C-terminal domain has much more extensive intersubunit contacts than major pilins in other T4P. As expected from these greater contacts, the bending and axial stiffness of the T4P is significantly higher than that of other T4P and supports T4P-dependent motility on surfaces of different stiffnesses. Notably, T4P variants with interrupted intersubunit interfaces had decreased bending stiffness and strongly reduced motility on all surfaces. These observations support an evolutionary scenario whereby the large major pilin enables the formation of a rigid T4P that expands the environmental conditions in which the T4P system functions.