TABLE 1.

Summary of the phenotypic alterations in N. meningitidis comP, pilT, pilT2, pilU, pilV, pilX, and pilZ mutants

Tfp biology feature	Alterationa in mutant:
	pilT	pilT2	pilU	comP	pilV	pilX	pilXT	pilZ	pilZT
Piliation	↑	↑				↓	↑	↓	↑
Competence	Nil			Nil	↑	↓	Nil		Nil
Aggregation	↑	✓			✓	Nil	↑	Nil	↑
Twitching motility	Nil				↑		Nil	ND	Nil
Adhesion to cells	✓		✓		✓	Nil	✓	↓	✓

^aWhen there is no indication, the corresponding feature is unaffected compared to that in the WT strain. ↑ and ↓, the feature is positively or negatively affected, respectively. Nil, the feature is abolished. ✓, the feature is altered in a qualitative fashion (see text for details). ND, not determined.