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FlgN is required for flagellum-based motility by Bacillus subtilis
Lynne S Cairns1, Victoria L Marlow1, Taryn B Kiley1
1Division of Molecular Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom.
Journal of Bacteriology
|April 8, 2014
Summary
Bacillus subtilis YvyG is crucial for bacterial flagellar assembly, acting as a type III secretion system chaperone. Its absence prevents filament formation and causes nonmotility.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
- Bacterial Motility
Background:
- Bacterial flagellar assembly is a complex process regulated by specialized secretion systems.
- Bacillus subtilis employs both conserved and unique mechanisms for flagellar construction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of YvyG in Bacillus subtilis flagellar assembly.
- To characterize YvyG as an orthologue of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium FlgN and its function in type III secretion.
Main Methods:
- Gene deletion and overexpression studies in Bacillus subtilis.
- Analysis of flagellar filament assembly and bacterial motility.
- Investigation of protein translation and polymerization.
Main Results:
- YvyG is essential for flagellar filament assembly in B. subtilis.
- Deletion of yvyG (flgN orthologue) leads to decreased hag translation and abolished filament polymerization, resulting in a nonmotile phenotype.
- A flgK-flgL double mutant phenocopies the ΔflgN defect, and overexpression of flgK-flgL does not rescue motility.
Conclusions:
- YvyG plays a critical role in B. subtilis flagellar filament formation, distinct from some previously studied systems.
- The regulation of flagellar biosynthesis in B. subtilis differs from Gram-negative models, and the functional significance of certain posttranslational modifications requires further investigation.
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