Structural basis of biofilm formation mediated by the Pseudomonas aeruginosa fibrillar adhesin CdrA
An electron cryomicroscopy structure of the 60 kDa CdrA adhesive N-terminus is reported, which combined with electron cryotomography of focused-ion beam milled specimens, allows for a complete in situ model of the native adhesin and reveals a small adhesive domain (called ADEPT) at the distal tip of CdrA that is nearly perfectly conserved across the P. aeruginosa pangenome.