Structural Biology: Bacterial flagellin structure

The bacterial flagellar filament is a helical propeller, made up of 11 flagellin filaments arranged as a helical supercoil.

The bacterial flagellar filament is a helical propeller, made up of 11 flagellin filaments arranged as a helical supercoil. By switching between left- and right-handed helical forms the bacterium can switch between 'running' and 'tumbling' swimming motions. The crystal structure of a major fragment of the flagellin subunit has now been determined, and a key structural element involved on the conformational switch is identified. This molecular switching mechanism will be of interest to those in the field of nanotechnology as well as the immediate field of bacterial flagella. The 'switch is shown in cross section on the cover.

Structure of the bacterial flagellar protofilament and implications for a switch for supercoiling
FADEL A. SAMATEY, KATSUMI IMADA, SHIGEHIRO NAGASHIMA, FERENC VONDERVISZT, TAKASHI KUMASAKA, MASAKI YAMAMOTO, KEIICHI NAMBA
Nature 410, 331-337 (15 March 2001)
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15 March 2001 table of contents