Helicobacter pylori HP1034 (ylxH) is required for motility

Helicobacter pylori motility is essential for the colonization and persistence in the human gastric mucosa. So far, more than 50 genes have been described to play a role in flagellar biosynthesis. H. pylori YlxH (HP1034) is annotated as an ATP-binding protein. However, H. pylori YlxH shows similarity to proteins involved in the flagellar biosynthesis of other bacterial species. Moreover, H. pylori ylxH is found adjacent to genes involved in flagellar biosynthesis in the sequenced genomes of H. pylori 26695 and J99. We therefore aimed to determine the role of YlxH in H. pylori motility.

Motility, flagellar biosynthesis and transcriptional regulation of genes encoding flagellar proteins was compared between H. pylori 11A and a knockout of ylxH in H. pylori 11A.

The ylxH knockout in H. pylori 11A was nonmotile on soft agar plates, whereas H. pylori 11A was motile. Furthermore, the H. pylori 11A ylxH knockout lacked flagella, while H. pylori 11A possessed two to three flagella. Transcription of H. pylori flaG (HP0751), fliM (HP1031) and fliA (HP1032) was reduced in the H. pylori 11A ylxH(;) knockout, whereas transcription of flaA (HP0601) was not altered. However, Western blot analysis showed substantially reduced amounts of the major flagellin subunit FlaA in the H. pylori 11A ylxH knockout compared to H. pylori 11A.

H. pylori YlxH is essential for the assembly of flagella and hence for the motility of H. pylori.