Structure and dynamics of gliding machinery in Bacteroidetes phylum bacteria

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project Area: Harmonized supramolecular machinery for motility and its diversity
• Project/Area Number: 24117006
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Review Section: Biological Sciences
• Research Institution: Nagasaki University
• Principal Investigator: NAKAYAMA Koji 長崎大学, 医歯薬学総合研究科(歯学系), 教授 (80150473)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 佐藤 啓子 長崎大学, 医歯薬学総合研究科(歯学系), 助教 (70410579)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-06-28 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 運動 / 細菌 / 蛋白質分泌

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Many of the Bacteroidetes phylum bacteria such as Flavobacterium johnsoniae exhibit rapid gliding motility on the substratum by a unique mechanism. This gliding motility relies on novel gliding machinery consisting of Gld and Spr proteins and requires SprB adhesin. SprB is a thin filament of 150 nm length extending from the cell surface, it is thought that SprB movement on the bacterial body along the closed spiral loop and attachment to the substratum cause rotation and translation of the bacterial cell. The multi-rail structure by GldJ is on the inner surface of the outer membrane, and gliding motility is supposed to occur by the movement of SprB adhesin along this structure.

Free Research Field

細菌学