The FraA adhesin and Ebp pili mediate Enterococcus faecalis adhesion under fluid flow

Deleting the flow-related adhesin FraA in Enterococcus faecalis accelerates detachment from hydrophobic abiotic surfaces under fluid flow, and FraA loss reduces catheter colonization in a murine CAUTI model.

• Why it matters: Blood and urine flow challenge bacterial attachment during infective endocarditis and CAUTI, so resilient adhesion mechanisms on medical devices are needed to explain and prevent colonization.
• What they did: The study used transcriptomics, structural predictions for OG1RF_11764 (fraA), and microfluidics with single-cell tracking to test adhesion under shear; it also assessed catheter colonization in a murine CAUTI model.
• The result: FraA expression increased in surface-attached cells under shear stress; FraA was present in 50.8% of 9,192 genomes, with CLIPPER repeat number varying by sequence type, and FraA plus Ebp pili support attachment across hydrodynamic conditions.

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