Chemically encoded pH-tunable covalent adhesion by a bacterial thioester domain.

pH regulates the reversible covalent adhesion of bacterial TEDs, with dissociation occurring rapidly at pH 6.0 in Streptococcus TEDs.

• Why it matters: Understanding how bacterial adhesion mechanisms respond to environmental pH is crucial for insights into infection processes and potential therapeutic targets.
• What they did: The study analyzed SfbI-TED from group A Streptococcus and other TEDs, showing that pH influences the equilibrium of covalent binding through thermodynamic and kinetic assessments.
• The result: Findings suggest pH-responsive adhesion is a conserved feature among Gram-positive bacteria TEDs, enabling bacteria to modulate attachment in response to environmental pH changes.