Intact flagellar motor of Borrelia burgdorferi revealed by cryo-electron tomography: evidence for stator ring curvature and rotor/C-ring assembly flexion.

ABSTRACT: The bacterial flagellar motor is a remarkable nanomachine that provides motility through flagellar rotation. Prior structural studies have revealed the stunning complexity of the purified rotor and C-ring assemblies from flagellar motors. In this study, we used high-throughput cryo-electron tomography and image analysis of intact Borrelia burgdorferi to produce a three-dimensional (3-D) model of the in situ flagellar motor without imposing rotational symmetry. Structural details of B. burgdorferi, including a layer of outer surface proteins, were clearly visible in the resulting 3-D reconstructions. By averaging the 3-D images of approximately 1,280 flagellar motors, a approximately 3.5-nm-resolution model of the stator and rotor structures was obtained. flgI transposon mutants lacked a to

SUBMITTER: Liu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2725586 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature