Catch-Bond Behavior of Bacteria Binding by Slip Bonds

It is shown that multipili-adhering bacteria expressing helix-like pili binding by slip bonds can show catch-bond behavior. When exposed to an external force, such bacteria can mediate adhesion to their hosts by either of two limiting means: sequential or simultaneous pili force exposure (referring to when the pili mediate force in a sequential or simultaneous manner, respectively). As the force is increased, the pill can transition from sequential to simultaneous pill force exposure. Since the latter mode of adhesion gives rise to a significantly longer bacterial adhesion lifetime than the former, this results in a prolongation of the lifetime, which shows up as a catch-bond behavior. The properties and conditions of this effect were theoretically investigated and assessed in some detail for dual-pili-adhering bacteria, by both analytical means and simulations. The results indicate that the adhesion lifetime of such bacteria can be prolonged by more than an order of magnitude. This implies that the adhesion properties of multibinding systems cannot be directly conveyed to the individual adhesion-receptor bonds.