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Title | FlbB forms a distinctive ring essential for periplasmic flagellar assembly and motility in Borrelia burgdorferi. |
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Journal, issue, pages | PLoS Pathog, Vol. 21, Issue 1, Page e1012812, Year 2025 |
Publish date | Jan 8, 2025 |
![]() | Jack M Botting / Md Khalesur Rahman / Hui Xu / Jian Yue / Wangbiao Guo / Joshua T Del Mundo / Michal Hammel / Md A Motaleb / Jun Liu / ![]() |
PubMed Abstract | Spirochetes are a widespread group of bacteria with a distinct morphology. Some spirochetes are important human pathogens that utilize periplasmic flagella to achieve motility and host infection. The ...Spirochetes are a widespread group of bacteria with a distinct morphology. Some spirochetes are important human pathogens that utilize periplasmic flagella to achieve motility and host infection. The motors that drive the rotation of periplasmic flagella have a unique spirochete-specific feature, termed the collar, crucial for the flat-wave morphology and motility of the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Here, we deploy cryo-electron tomography and subtomogram averaging to determine high-resolution in-situ structures of the B. burgdorferi flagellar motor. Comparative analysis and molecular modeling of in-situ flagellar motor structures from B. burgdorferi mutants lacking each of the known collar proteins (FlcA, FlcB, FlcC, FlbB, and Bb0236/FlcD) uncover a complex protein network at the base of the collar. Importantly, our data suggest that FlbB forms a novel periplasmic ring around the rotor but also acts as a scaffold supporting collar assembly and subsequent recruitment of stator complexes. The complex protein network based on the FlbB ring effectively bridges the rotor and 16 torque-generating stator complexes in each flagellar motor, thus contributing to the specialized motility and lifestyle of spirochetes in complex environments. |
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Methods | EM (subtomogram averaging) |
Resolution | 13.4 - 26.8 Å |
Structure data | ![]() EMDB-45288: A focused refinement map of the Borreliella burgdorferi flagellar collar ![]() EMDB-45289: A focused refinement map of the flagellar collar of an flcC deletion mutant strain of Borreliella burgdorferi ![]() EMDB-45290: A focused refinement structure of the flagellar collar of a flcA deletion mutant of Borreliella burgdorferi ![]() EMDB-45291: A focused refinement map of the flagellar collar of a Borreliella burgdorferi flcB mutant |
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