The flagellar hook protein, FlgE, of Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium is posttranscriptionally regulated in response to the stage of flagellar assembly.

Abstract

We investigated the posttranscriptional regulation of flgE, a class 2 gene that encodes the hook subunit protein of the flagella. RNase protection assays demonstrated that the flgE gene was transcribed at comparable levels in numerous strains defective in known steps of flagellar assembly. However, Western analyses of these strains demonstrated substantial differences in FlgE protein levels. Although wild-type FlgE levels were observed in strains with deletions of genes encoding components of the switch complex and the flagellum-specific secretion apparatus, no protein was detected in a strain with deletions of the rod, ring, and hook-associated proteins. To determine whether FlgE levels were affected by the stage of hook-basal-body assembly, Western analysis was performed on strains with mutations at individual loci encompassed by the deletion. FlgE protein was undetectable in rod mutants, intermediate in ring mutants, and wild type in hook-associated protein mutants. The lack of negative regulation in switch complex and flagellum-specific secretion apparatus deletion mutants blocked for flagellar construction prior to rod assembly suggests that these structures play a role in the negative regulation of FlgE. Quantitative Western analyses of numerous flagellar mutants indicate that FlgE levels reflect the stage at which flagellar assembly is blocked. These data provide evidence for negative posttranscriptional regulation of FlgE in response to the stage of flagellar assembly.