Journal
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
Volume 13, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.873573
Keywords
flagellum; rotation; motor; ion motive force; Howard Berg
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Rotation is a common phenomenon in our daily lives, and it was once believed to be a uniquely human invention. However, research has shown that rotating nanomachines have independently evolved at least three times and play a crucial role in various cellular processes.
Rotation is part of our everyday lives. For most of human history, rotation was considered a uniquely human invention, something beyond the anatomical capabilities of organisms. In 1973, Howard Berg made the audacious proposal that the common gut bacterium Escherichia coli swims by rotating helical flagellar filaments. In 1987, Paul Boyer suggested that the FoF1 ATP synthase of E. coli is also a rotary device. Now we know that rotating nanomachines evolved independently at least three times. They power a wide variety of cellular processes. Here, the study of flagellar rotation in E. coli is briefly summarized. In 2020, the Cryo-EM structure of the MotAB stator element of the bacterial flagellum was described. The structure strongly suggests that the MotAB stator rotates to drive flagellar rotation. Similar motors are coupled to other diverse processes. The following articles in this issue review the current knowledge and speculation about rotating biological nanomachines.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available