Structure and Dynamics of the Bacterial Flagellar Motor Complex.

Biomolecules

Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita Osaka 565-0871, Japan.

Published: November 2024

AI Article Synopsis

Article Abstract

Many bacteria swim in liquids and move over solid surfaces by rotating flagella. The bacterial flagellum is a supramolecular protein complex that is composed of about 30 different flagellar proteins ranging from a few to tens of thousands. Despite structural and functional diversities of the flagella among motile bacteria, the flagellum commonly consists of a membrane-embedded rotary motor fueled by an ion motive force across the cytoplasmic membrane, a universal joint, and a helical propeller that extends several micrometers beyond the cell surface. The flagellar motor consists of a rotor and several stator units, each of which acts as a transmembrane ion channel complex that converts the ion flux through the channel into the mechanical work required for force generation. The rotor ring complex is equipped with a reversible gear that is regulated by chemotactic signal transduction pathways. As a result, bacteria can move to more desirable locations in response to environmental changes. Recent high-resolution structural analyses of flagella using cryo-electron microscopy have provided deep insights into the assembly, rotation, and directional switching mechanisms of the flagellar motor complex. In this review article, we describe the current understanding of the structure and dynamics of the bacterial flagellum.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11673145PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biom14121488DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

flagellar motor
12
structure dynamics
8
dynamics bacterial
8
motor complex
8
bacterial flagellum
8
complex
5
flagellar
4
bacterial flagellar
4
motor
4
complex bacteria
4

Similar Publications

Genomic characteristics and virulence of common but overlooked Yersinia intermedia, Y. frederiksenii, and Y. kristensenii in food.

Int J Food Microbiol

January 2025

College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China. Electronic address:

Article Synopsis
  • Three species of Yersinia (Y. intermedia, Y. frederiksenii, and Y. kristensenii), common foodborne pathogens, were analyzed using genomic data to uncover their potential threat, revealing significant genomic diversity and a noteworthy presence in Europe and Asia.
  • Y. intermedia demonstrated a high level of accessory genes, suggesting adaptability and the ability to acquire beneficial traits, while all three species contained various mobile genetic elements including plasmids and insertion sequences.
  • Differences in antibiotic resistance genes and virulence gene composition were noted, with Y. kristensenii being the most virulent, containing the most virulence genes, while Y. frederiksenii showed unique pathogenic mechanisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tetrameric PilZ protein stabilizes stator ring in complex flagellar motor and is required for motility in .

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

January 2025

Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio Resources and Ecology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica, Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Observation and Research Station for Coastal Upwelling Ecosystem, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 511458, China.

Rotation of the bacterial flagellum, the first identified biological rotary machine, is driven by its stator units. Knowledge gained about the function of stator units has increasingly led to studies of rotary complexes in different cellular pathways. Here, we report that a tetrameric PilZ family protein, FlgX, is a structural component underneath the stator units in the flagellar motor of .

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Structural insight into sodium ion pathway in the bacterial flagellar stator from marine .

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

January 2025

Department of Macromolecular Science, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka 560-0043, Japan.

Many bacteria swim in liquid or swarm on surface using the flagellum rotated by a motor driven by specific ion flow. The motor consists of the rotor and stator, and the stator converts the energy of ion flow to mechanical rotation. However, the ion pathway and the mechanism of stator rotation coupled with specific ion flow are still obscure.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The Helicobacter pylori flagellar motor contains several accessory structures that are not found in the archetypal Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica motors. H. pylori hp0838 encodes a previously uncharacterized lipoprotein and is in an operon with flgP, which encodes a motor accessory protein.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Spirochetes are a widespread group of bacteria with a distinct morphology. Some spirochetes are important human pathogens that utilize periplasmic flagella to achieve motility and host infection. The motors that drive the rotation of periplasmic flagella have a unique spirochete-specific feature, termed the collar, crucial for the flat-wave morphology and motility of the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!