adhesins.com is an independent educational website about bacterial adhesins: the surface proteins and hair-like appendages (pili and fimbriae) that bacteria, and some fungi, use to attach to host cells, tissues and medical devices. Attachment is usually the first step of colonisation and infection, and it is the starting point of most biofilms.
What you will find here
- Explanatory articles on adhesin structure, pili and fimbriae, staphylococcal MSCRAMMs, biofilm formation and anti-adhesion strategies.
- A glossary of adhesion-biology terms (FimH, catch bond, chaperone-usher pathway, sortase and more).
- Free, browser-based study tools: an adhesin reference table, a biofilm-stage guide and simple sequence and protein calculators.
- A short list of trusted external databases and references (PubMed, PDB, UniProt and others) for going deeper.
Who it is for
The site is written for students in microbiology, biology and biomedical courses, educators looking for a concise overview, and curious readers who want to understand how bacteria stick to surfaces. Researchers may find it useful as a quick orientation, but it is not a substitute for the primary literature.
What this site is not
adhesins.com is not a laboratory, research institute, journal, clinic or company. It does not offer consulting, research services, data access or medical advice, and its articles are not peer reviewed. Articles summarise published scientific literature; where possible they name key references so readers can check the original sources.
Corrections and feedback
Science changes and mistakes happen. If you spot an error or want to suggest a topic, please use the contact form.
How the site is funded
The site is free to read and is supported by advertising served by Google AdSense. Advertisers have no influence over the content.