Abstract

The bacterial flagellum is an apparatus of motility commonly found among motile species. The flagellum is a supramolecular structure composed of about 20 protein components and divided into three substructures: the filament, the hook and the basal body. The filament is a helix, which takes on several distinct forms under various conditions. Helical forms of peritrichous, polar and lateral flagella are independent from each other and belong to different flagellar families. The basal body contains the rotary motor, which is powered typically by a proton motive force. The C ring is a cup-shaped structure attached to the cytoplasmic side of the basal body and works as the rotor of the motor and as a part of the secretion apparatus. About 40 genes required for the flagellar assembly are ordered in a hierarchical manner at the transcriptional level. The flagellar assembly is also regulated at the secretion gate, which does not allow the secretion of filament proteins until the hook-basal body is completed. The flagellar basal body shares common features with the secretion apparatus for virulence factors, indicating that the two systems were derived from a common ancestor.

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