Transcriptional and functional characterizations of multiple flagellin genes in spirochetes.

ABSTRACT: The flagellar filament is a helical propeller for bacterial locomotion. In external flagellates, the filaments are mostly homopolymers of a single flagellin protein. By contrast, the flagellar filaments of spirochetes are mostly heteropolymers of multiple flagellin proteins. This report seeks to investigate the role of multiple flagellin proteins using the oral spirochete Treponema denticola as a model. First, biochemical and genetic studies uncover that the flagellar filaments of T. denticola mainly comprise four proteins, FlaA, FlaB1, FlaB2, and FlaB3, in a defined stoichiometry. Second, transcriptional analyses reveal that the genes encoding these four proteins are regulated by two different transcriptional factors, sigma²⁸ and sigma⁷⁰ . Third, loss-of-function stu

SUBMITTER: Kurniyati K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9481697 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature