Mike Sleutel

This study identifies a chaperone-guided donor-strand exchange pathway in Enterococcus faecalis that assembles a Gram-positive pilus, revealing a hybrid system combining chaperone-usher and sortase-dependent mechanisms.

This paper investigates AbpX, a microbial biomatrix protein that forms thermostable hydrogels through calcium ion-dependent self-assembly and provides an atomic model of its fibril lattice.

This study identifies donor strand complementation and calcium ion coordination as key drivers of chaperone-free cannulae polymerization in archaea.

The paper determines the atomic structure of the PS2 S-layer from Corynebacterium glutamicum using cryo-EM and shows its polar assembly mechanism and phylogenetic distribution.

The paper identifies F-ENA as a widespread family of endospore appendages in Firmicutes using cryo-EM, revealing their structure and role in spore clustering.

This study investigates the role of S-ENAs and L-ENAs in spore-spore contacts and their interaction with vegetative cells, revealing their importance in self-aggregation and environmental factors' impact.

The paper identifies a novel class of ultra-stable endospore appendages in Bacillus paranthracis, revealing their structure, genetic basis, and phylogenetic distribution.