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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Biophysical Characterization of Flagellar Motor Functions

Biophysical Characterization of Flagellar Motor Functions

Published on: January 18, 2017

Structural insights into flagellar stator-rotor interactions.

Yunjie Chang^1,2, Ki Hwan Moon^1,3, Xiaowei Zhao^2,4

¹Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, United States.

|July 18, 2019

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The bacterial flagellar motor uses ion flux for rotation. In Borrelia burgdorferi, proton-driven torque causes a C-ring conformational change essential for flagellar movement.

Keywords:

bacterial flagella infectious disease microbiology molecular biophysics motility nanomachine protein-protein interaction spirochete structural biology

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Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging of Molecular Rotors in Living Cells

Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging of Molecular Rotors in Living Cells

Published on: February 9, 2012

Area of Science:

Microbiology
Structural Biology
Biophysics

Background:

The bacterial flagellar motor is a complex molecular machine enabling motility.
Stator-rotor interaction and ion flux are critical for generating torque.
Understanding these mechanisms in pathogens like Borrelia burgdorferi is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

To visualize the intact flagellar motor structure in Borrelia burgdorferi using cryo-electron tomography.
To elucidate the in situ localization and detailed interaction of the stator complex with the rotor.
To investigate the role of ion flux in driving conformational changes necessary for flagellar rotation.

Main Methods:

Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) was utilized to image the native flagellar motor.
Structural analysis was performed on wild-type and stator-deletion mutants of Borrelia burgdorferi.
Comparative analysis focused on conformational changes in the C-ring.

Main Results:

The stator complex was localized in situ within the Borrelia burgdorferi flagellar motor.
Unprecedented detail of the stator-rotor interaction was revealed.
A conformational change in the flagella C-ring was observed, induced by stator-rotor interaction.
This conformational change was dependent on proton flux, as evidenced by non-motile mutants.

Conclusions:

Proton-driven torque is the primary driver of the conformational changes in the C-ring.
These conformational changes are essential for the torque generation required for flagellar rotation.
The findings provide new insights into the mechanics of bacterial motility in Borrelia burgdorferi.