A new player at the flagellar motor: FliL controls both motor output and bias.

ABSTRACT:

Unlabelled

The bacterial flagellum is driven by a bidirectional rotary motor, which propels bacteria to swim through liquids or swarm over surfaces. While the functions of the major structural and regulatory components of the flagellum are known, the function of the well-conserved FliL protein is not. In Salmonella and Escherichia coli, the absence of FliL leads to a small defect in swimming but complete elimination of swarming. Here, we tracked single motors of these bacteria and found that absence of FliL decreases their speed as well as switching frequency. We demonstrate that FliL interacts strongly with itself, with the MS ring protein FliF, and with the stator proteins MotA and MotB and weakly with the rotor switch protein FliG. These and other experiments show that FliL incr

SUBMITTER: Partridge JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4358005 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature