Pilin antigenic variants impact gonococcal lifestyle and antibiotic tolerance by modulating interbacterial forces

Type 4 pili (T4P) are multifunctional filaments involved in adhesion, surface motility, biofilm formation, and horizontal gene transfer. These extracellular polymers are surface-exposed and, therefore, act as antigens. The human pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae uses pilin antigenic variation to escape immune surveillance, yet it is unclear how antigenic variation impacts most other functions of T4P. Here, we addressed this question by replacing the major pilin of a laboratory strain with pilins from clinical isolates. We reveal that the resulting strains vary substantially in their attractive forces. Strongly interacting bacteria form microcolonies while weakly interacting bacteria retain a planktonic lifestyle. In mixed microcolonies, different variant strains segregate in agreement with the differential strength of adhesion hypothesis. By combining structural predictions and laser tweezers experiments, we show that the C-terminal region of the pilin is crucial for attraction. Lifestyle affects growth kinetics and antibiotic tolerance. In the presence of ceftriaxone or ciprofloxacin, the killing kinetics indicate strongly increased tolerance of aggregating strains. We propose that pilin antigenic variation produces a mixed population containing variants optimized for growth, colonization, or survivability under external stress. Different environments select different variants, ensuring the survival and reproduction of the population as a whole.