Download MendeleyInsight into the assembly mechanism in the supramolecular rings of the sodium-driven Vibrio flagellar motor from the structure of FlgT
Terashima, H., Li, N., Sakuma, M., Koike, M., Kojima, S., Homma, M., Imada, K.(2013) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 110: 6133-6138
- PubMed: 23530206
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1222655110
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
3W1E - PubMed Abstract:
Flagellar motility is a key factor for bacterial survival and growth in fluctuating environments. The polar flagellum of a marine bacterium, Vibrio alginolyticus, is driven by sodium ion influx and rotates approximately six times faster than the proton-driven motor of Escherichia coli. The basal body of the sodium motor has two unique ring structures, the T ring and the H ring. These structures are essential for proper assembly of the stator unit into the basal body and to stabilize the motor. FlgT, which is a flagellar protein specific for Vibrio sp., is required to form and stabilize both ring structures. Here, we report the crystal structure of FlgT at 2.0-Å resolution. FlgT is composed of three domains, the N-terminal domain (FlgT-N), the middle domain (FlgT-M), and the C-terminal domain (FlgT-C). FlgT-M is similar to the N-terminal domain of TolB, and FlgT-C resembles the N-terminal domain of FliI and the α/β subunits of F1-ATPase. To elucidate the role of each domain, we prepared domain deletion mutants of FlgT and analyzed their effects on the basal-body ring formation. The results suggest that FlgT-N contributes to the construction of the H-ring structure, and FlgT-M mediates the T-ring association on the LP ring. FlgT-C is not essential but stabilizes the H-ring structure. On the basis of these results, we propose an assembly mechanism for the basal-body rings and the stator units of the sodium-driven flagellar motor.
Organizational Affiliation:
Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa-Ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
