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Adhesion fimbriae (pili) of uropathogenic and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (UPEC and ETEC, respectively) facilitate adherence of the bacteria to target cells. Fimbriae are absolutely necessary for colonization and biofilm formation in the initiation of disease. The types of fimbriae expressed on the bacterial surface vary with the preferred environmental niche of the bacterial strain. For example, UPEC that express P-pili are most frequently associated pyelonephritis, an infection in the upper urinary tract, whereas bacteria that express type 1 fimbriae commonly cause cystitis through infection of the lower urinary tract. In contrast, ETEC expressing CFA/I and CS2 pili are associated with diarrheal diseases, initiating disease in the small intestines.

Although expressed in different enviroments, these fimbriae share basic structural and biomechanical features. Structurally, they are all long (1-4 μm), thin (7-8 nm diameter) helix-like filaments that extend from the bacterial surface. Biomechanically, they share the ability to be extended into a thinner filament (2-3 nm diameter) by unwinding of the helical filament under a constant force. However, the force required to unwind is specific to each fimbrial type. In addition, the dependence of the force required to unwind a fimbria on the velocity of this unwinding, (that is, the kinetics of unwinding), is also type-specific and highly variable. These biomechanical parameters are dissimilar for UPEC and ETEC expressed fimbriae, separating them into two distinct groups. Using force spectroscopy data, helical reconstructions from electron microscopy data, and computational simulations, we show in this work how these pronounced biomechanical differences may be beneficial for bacterial survival in a given environment.