Dataset Information

Dynamics of the bacterial flagellar motor with multiple stators.

ABSTRACT: The bacterial flagellar motor drives the rotation of flagellar filaments and enables many species of bacteria to swim. Torque is generated by interaction of stator units, anchored to the peptidoglycan cell wall, with the rotor. Recent experiments [Yuan J, Berg HC (2008) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:1182-1185] show that at near-zero load the speed of the motor is independent of the number of stators. Here, we introduce a mathematical model of the motor dynamics that explains this behavior based on a general assumption that the stepping rate of a stator depends on the torque exerted by the stator on the rotor. We find that the motor dynamics can be characterized by two timescales: the moving-time interval for the mechanical rotation of the rotor and the waiting-time interval determined by the chemical transitions of the stators. We show that these two timescales depend differently on the load, and that their cross-over provides the microscopic explanation for the existence of two regimes in the torque-speed curves observed experimentally. We also analyze the speed fluctuation for a single motor by using our model. We show that the motion is smoothed by having more stator units. However, the mechanism for such fluctuation reduction is different depending on the load. We predict that the speed fluctuation is determined by the number of steps per revolution only at low load and is controlled by external noise for high load. Our model can be generalized to study other molecular motor systems with multiple power-generating units.

SUBMITTER: Meacci G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2656151 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Dynamics of the bacterial flagellar motor with multiple stators.

Meacci Giovanni G Tu Yuhai Y

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20090220 10

The bacterial flagellar motor drives the rotation of flagellar filaments and enables many species of bacteria to swim. Torque is generated by interaction of stator units, anchored to the peptidoglycan cell wall, with the rotor. Recent experiments [Yuan J, Berg HC (2008) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:1182-1185] show that at near-zero load the speed of the motor is independent of the number of stators. Here, we introduce a mathematical model of the motor dynamics that explains this behavior based on ...[more]

PMID: 19234112

Similar Datasets

Project description:Pseudomonas aeruginosa frequently encounters microbes that produce ethanol. Low concentrations of ethanol reduced P. aeruginosa swim zone area by up to 45% in soft agar. The reduction of swimming by ethanol required the flagellar motor proteins MotAB and two PilZ domain proteins (FlgZ and PilZ). PilY1 and the type 4 pilus alignment complex (comprising PilMNOP) were previously implicated in MotAB regulation in surface-associated cells and were required for ethanol-dependent motility repression. As FlgZ requires the second messenger bis-(3'-5')-cyclic dimeric GMP (c-di-GMP) to represses motility, we screened mutants lacking genes involved in c-di-GMP metabolism and found that mutants lacking diguanylate cyclases SadC and GcbA were less responsive to ethanol. The double mutant was resistant to its effects. As published previously, ethanol also represses swarming motility, and the same genes required for ethanol effects on swimming motility were required for its regulation of swarming. Microscopic analysis of single cells in soft agar revealed that ethanol effects on swim zone area correlated with ethanol effects on the portion of cells that paused or stopped during the time interval analyzed. Ethanol increased c-di-GMP in planktonic wild-type cells but not in ΔmotAB or ΔsadC ΔgcbA mutants, suggesting c-di-GMP plays a role in the response to ethanol in planktonic cells. We propose that ethanol produced by other microbes induces a regulated decrease in P. aeruginosa motility, thereby promoting P. aeruginosa colocalization with ethanol-producing microbes. Furthermore, some of the same factors involved in the response to surface contact are involved in the response to ethanol.IMPORTANCE Ethanol is an important biologically active molecule produced by many bacteria and fungi. It has also been identified as a potential marker for disease state in cystic fibrosis. In line with previous data showing that ethanol promotes biofilm formation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, here we report that ethanol reduces swimming motility using some of the same proteins involved in surface sensing. We propose that these data may provide insight into how microbes, via their metabolic byproducts, can influence P. aeruginosa colocalization in the context of infection and in other polymicrobial settings.

Dataset Information

Dynamics of the bacterial flagellar motor with multiple stators.

Publications

Dynamics of the bacterial flagellar motor with multiple stators.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets