Conformational switching in the flagellar filament of Salmonella typhimurium

Shlomo Trachtenberg*, David J. DeRosier

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

The flagellar filament of the mutant Salmonella typhimurium strain SJW814 is straight, and has a right-handed twist like the filament of SJW1655. Three-dimensional reconstructions from electron micrographs of ice-embedded filaments reveal a flagellin subunit that has the same domain organization as that of SJW1655. Both show slight changes from the domain organization of the subunits from SJW1660, which possesses a straight, left-handed filament. This points to the possible role of changes in subunit conformation in the left-to-right-handed structural transition in filaments. Comparison of the left and right-handed filaments shows that the subunit's orientation and intersubunit bonding appear to change. The orientation of the subunit in the SJW814 filament is intermediate between that of SJW1655 and SJW1660. Its intermediate orientation may explain why the filaments of SJW1655 and SJW1660 are locked in one conformation, whereas the filament of SJW814 can be induced to switch by, for example, changes in pH and ionic strength.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)447-454
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Molecular Biology
Volume226
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 20 Jul 1992

Keywords

  • bacterial flagella
  • bacterial motility
  • cryoelectron microscopy
  • helical three-dimensional reconstruction
  • switchable protein

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