Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Biophysical Characterization of Flagellar Motor Functions
Published on: January 18, 2017
Divergence of quaternary structures among bacterial flagellar filaments
Vitold E Galkin1, Xiong Yu, Jakub Bielnicki
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Box 800733, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908-0733, USA.
Abstract:
It has been widely assumed that the atomic structure of the flagellar filament from Salmonella typhimurium serves as a model for all bacterial flagellar filaments given the sequence conservation in the coiled-coil regions responsible for polymerization. On the basis of electron microscopic images, we show that the flagellar filaments from Campylobacter jejuni have seven protofilaments rather than the 11 in S. typhimurium. The vertebrate Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) recognizes a region of bacterial flagellin that is involved in subunit-subunit assembly in Salmonella and many other pathogenic bacteria, and this short region has diverged in Campylobacter and related bacteria, such as Helicobacter pylori, which are not recognized by TLR5. The driving force in the change of quaternary structure between Salmonella and Campylobacter may have been the evasion of TLR5.
More Related Videos
07:59Investigating Flagella-Driven Motility in Escherichia coli by Applying Three Established Techniques in a Series
Published on: May 10, 2020
09:12Applying Live Cell Imaging and Cryo-Electron Tomography to Resolve Spatiotemporal Features of the Legionella pneumophila Dot/Icm Secretion System
Published on: March 10, 2020
Related Concept Videos
Flagella and Motility in Bacteria
Fimbriae, Pili, and Axial Filaments
Cytoskeletal Proteins in Bacteria
Generation of Straight or Branched Actin Filaments
Arp2/3 Complex
Arp2/3 complex is a seven-subunit complex consisting of two proteins similar to actin- Arp2 and Arp3, and five other subunits that help keep Arp2 and Arp3 inactive. When required, the complex is...
Formation of Intermediate Filaments
Microtubules in Cell Motility