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Switch interactions control energy frustration and multiple flagellar filament structures.

Akio Kitao1, Koji Yonekura, Saori Maki-Yonekura

  • 1Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan. kitao@iam.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|March 22, 2006
PubMed
Summary

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Bacterial flagellar filaments switch between supercoiled states to control swimming. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal permanent, sliding, and switch interactions drive this polymorphic supercoiling mechanism.

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Molecular Biology
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Bacterial flagellar filaments are essential for motility.
  • Filament structure transitions between left- and right-handed supercoils, controlled by flagellar motor torque.
  • Understanding these conformational changes is key to bacterial locomotion.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the atomic-level mechanisms of bacterial flagellar filament supercoiling.
  • To identify the key molecular interactions governing polymorphic supercoiling.
  • To explain the dynamic process of supercoil transitions.

Main Methods:

  • Massive molecular dynamics simulations.
  • Construction of atomic-level supercoil structures.
  • Analysis of inter-subunit interactions.

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Main Results:

  • Identified three critical interaction types: permanent, sliding, and switch.
  • Demonstrated how these interactions enable inter-subunit shear and stabilization.
  • Showed polymorphic supercoiling arises from energy frustration between interactions.

Conclusions:

  • Bacterial flagellar filament supercoiling is driven by a complex interplay of permanent, sliding, and switch interactions.
  • A 'transform and relax' mechanism facilitates rapid structural transformation followed by slow relaxation to metastable states.
  • This provides a detailed molecular understanding of bacterial motility control.