The deep-sea bacterium Photobacterium profundum SS9 utilizes separate flagellar systems for swimming and swarming under high-pressure conditions.

ABSTRACT: Motility is a critical function needed for nutrient acquisition, biofilm formation, and the avoidance of harmful chemicals and predators. Flagellar motility is one of the most pressure-sensitive cellular processes in mesophilic bacteria; therefore, it is ecologically relevant to determine how deep-sea microbes have adapted their motility systems for functionality at depth. In this study, the motility of the deep-sea piezophilic bacterium Photobacterium profundum SS9 was investigated and compared with that of the related shallow-water piezosensitive strain Photobacterium profundum 3TCK, as well as that of the well-studied piezosensitive bacterium Escherichia coli. The SS9 genome contains two flagellar gene clusters: a polar flagellum gene cluster (PF) and a putative lateral flagellum gene c

SUBMITTER: Eloe EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2570297 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature