Structure of the Sodium-Driven Flagellar Motor in Marine Vibrio

Most bacteria can swim by rotating the flagellum. The basal body of the flagellum is an essential part for this motor function. Recent comprehensive analysis of the flagellar basal body structures across bacteria by cryo-electron tomography has revealed that they all share core structures, the rod, and rings: the C ring, M ring, S ring, L ring, and P ring. Furthermore, it also has uncovered that in some bacteria, there are extra ring structures in the periplasmic space and outer-membrane. Here, we describe a protocol to isolate the basal body of the flagellar basal body from a marine bacterium, Vibrio alginolyticus, for structural analysis of additional ring structures, the T ring and H ring.