Journal article

Authors list: Pecina, A; Schwan, M; Blagotinsek, V; Rick, T; Klüber, P; Leonhard, T; Bange, G; Thormann, KM

Publication year: 2021

Pages: 668892-

Journal: Frontiers in Microbiology

Volume number: 12

ISSN: 1664-302X

Open access status: Gold

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.668892

Publisher: Frontiers Media

Abstract: 
A number of bacterial species control the function of the flagellar motor in response to the levels of the secondary messenger c-di-GMP, which is often mediated by c-di-GMP-binding proteins that act as molecular brakes or clutches to slow the motor rotation. The gammaproteobacterium Shewanella putrefaciens possesses two distinct flagellar systems, the primary single polar flagellum and a secondary system with one to five lateral flagellar filaments. Here, we identified a protein, MotL, which specifically regulates the activity of the lateral, but not the polar, flagellar motors in response to the c-di-GMP levels. MotL only consists of a single PilZ domain binding c-di-GMP, which is crucial for its function. Deletion and overproduction analyses revealed that MotL slows down the lateral flagella at elevated levels of c-di-GMP, and may speed up the lateral flagellar-mediated movement at low c-di-GMP concentrations. In vitro interaction studies hint at an interaction of MotL with the C-ring of the lateral flagellar motors. This study shows a differential c-di-GMP-dependent regulation of the two flagellar systems in a single species, and implicates that PilZ domain-only proteins can also act as molecular regulators to control the flagella-mediated motility in bacteria.

Harvard Citation style: Pecina, A., Schwan, M., Blagotinsek, V., Rick, T., Klüber, P., Leonhard, T., et al. (2021) The Stand-Alone PilZ-Domain Protein MotL Specifically Regulates the Activity of the Secondary Lateral Flagellar System in Shewanella putrefaciens, Frontiers in Microbiology, 12, Article 668892. p. 668892. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.668892

APA Citation style: Pecina, A., Schwan, M., Blagotinsek, V., Rick, T., Klüber, P., Leonhard, T., Bange, G., & Thormann, K. (2021). The Stand-Alone PilZ-Domain Protein MotL Specifically Regulates the Activity of the Secondary Lateral Flagellar System in Shewanella putrefaciens. Frontiers in Microbiology. 12, Article 668892, 668892. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.668892