ArticleInfection and immunity2015
Motor rotation is essential for the formation of the periplasmic flagellar ribbon, cellular morphology, and Borrelia burgdorferi persistence within Ixodes scapularis tick and murine hosts.
Article in Infection and immunity, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers.
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Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 59 citations in OpenAlex.
- Innate immune responses tomBio · 2026Article
- The ancient E-ring in bacterial flagellar motors.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2026Review
- BBK32 attenuates antibody-dependent complement-mediated killing of infectious Borreliella burgdorferi isolates.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- Bacterial and host enzymes modulate the pro-inflammatory response elicited by the peptidoglycan of Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- Inhibitors of Lysinoalanine Cross-Linking in the Flagella Hook as Antimicrobials against Spirochetes.ACS chemical biology · 2025Article
- MCP5, a methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein regulated by both the Hk1-Rrp1 and Rrp2-RpoN-RpoS pathways, is required for the immune evasion of Borrelia burgdorferi.PLoS pathogens · 2024Article
- Broadly conserved FlgV controls flagellar assembly and Borrelia burgdorferi dissemination in mice.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Hitchhiker's Guide toJournal of bacteriology · 2024Review
- MCP5, a methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein regulated by both the Hk1-Rrp1 and Rrp2-RpoN-RpoS pathways, is required for the immune evasion ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Targeting motility and chemotaxis as a strategy to combat bacterial pathogens.Microbial biotechnology · 2023Article
- A chemosensory-like histidine kinase is dispensable for chemotaxis in vitro but regulates the virulence of Borrelia burgdorferi through modulating the stability of RpoS.PLoS pathogens · 2023Article
- Chemotaxis Coupling Protein CheWInfection and immunity · 2023Article
- FliL ring enhances the function of periplasmic flagella.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- Article
- Role of the major determinant of polar flagellation FlhG in the endoflagella-containing spirochete Leptospira.Molecular microbiology · 2021Article
- Live Imaging.Current issues in molecular biology · 2021Review
- BB0259 Encompasses a Peptidoglycan Lytic Enzyme Function for Proper Assembly of Periplasmic Flagella inFrontiers in microbiology · 2021Article
- Genetic Manipulation ofCurrent issues in molecular biology · 2021Review
- BB0326 is responsible for the formation of periplasmic flagellar collar and assembly of the stator complex in Borrelia burgdorferi.Molecular microbiology · 2020Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi must migrate within and between its arthropod and mammalian hosts in order to complete its natural enzootic cycle. During tick feeding, the spirochete transmits from the tick to the host dermis, eventually colonizing and persisting within multiple, distant tissues. This dissemination modality suggests that flagellar motor rotation and, by extension, motility are crucial for infection. We recently reported that a nonmotile flaB mutant that lacks periplasmic flagella is rod shaped and unable to infect mice by needle or tick bite. However, those studies could not differentiate whether motor rotation or merely the possession of the periplasmic flagella was crucial for cellular morphology and host persistence. Here, we constructed and characterized a motB mutant that is nonmotile but retains its periplasmic flagella. Even though ΔmotB bacteria assembled flagella, part of the mutant cell is rod shaped. Cryoelectron tomography revealed that the flagellar ribbons are distorted in the mutant cells, indicating that motor rotation is essential for spirochetal flat-wave morphology. The ΔmotB cells are unable to infect mice, survive in the vector, or migrate out of the tick. Coinfection studies determined that the presence of these nonmotile ΔmotB cells has no effect on the clearance of wild-type spirochetes during murine infection and vice versa. Together, our data demonstrate that while flagellar motor rotation is necessary for spirochetal morphology and motility, the periplasmic flagella display no additional properties related to immune clearance and persistence within relevant hosts.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.