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"Pili (singular: pilus, or “hair”) are a second type of protein structure projecting beyond the bacterial surface (Eisenstein, 1987). They are also known as fimbriae. Pili are organelles of attachment to surfaces and exhibit remarkable specificity. A typical E. coli cell has 100-300 of these organelles. Pili originate from the cell membrane and extend 0.2 to 2 µm into the medium (figure 16). They are composed of structural proteins termed PILINS." Note-the above value uses pili and fimbriae interchangeably. For pili as organelles of bacterial conjugation see BNID 106205 |