Fig 6.

Force-dependent conformational changes in T4aP fibers. Biais et al. (46) showed that applying pulling forces just below those that cause Neisseria pili to break can lead to stretching of the pili in their long dimension, making them ∼40% narrower, with only 2/3 the mass per unit length of normal fibers (right). This conformational distortion was reversible and exposed epitopes (left) for the SM1 monoclonal antibody (green) that were hidden in normal fibers (red). (Left panel reprinted from reference 46 with permission of the publisher; right panel courtesy of Nicolas Biais.)