ArticlePLoS biology2018
Hook length of the bacterial flagellum is optimized for maximal stability of the flagellar bundle.
Article in PLoS biology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Curvature Generation and Engineering Principles fromACS nano · 2025Article
- Run-and-tumble dynamics ofJournal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2025Article
- Inhibitors of Lysinoalanine Cross-Linking in the Flagella Hook as Antimicrobials against Spirochetes.ACS chemical biology · 2025Article
- D-stem mutation in an essential tRNA increases translation speed at the cost of fidelity.PLoS genetics · 2025Article
- Structure and Dynamics of the Bacterial Flagellar Motor Complex.Biomolecules · 2024Review
- The bacterial flagellum as an object for optical trapping.Biophysical reviews · 2024Review
- Structure, Assembly, and Function of Flagella Responsible for Bacterial Locomotion.EcoSal Plus · 2023Review
- Lysinoalanine cross-linking is a conserved post-translational modification in the spirochete flagellar hook.PNAS nexus · 2023Article
- An overview of the structure and function of the flagellar hook FlgE protein.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2023Review
- Targeting early proximal-rod component substrate FlgB to FlhB for flagellar-type III secretion in Salmonella.PLoS genetics · 2022Article
- Article
- Control of membrane barrier during bacterial type-III protein secretion.Nature communications · 2021Article
- Article
- Amylases: Biofilm Inducer or Biofilm Inhibitor?Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021Review
- Distinct chemotactic behavior in the original Escherichia coli K-12 depending on forward-and-backward swimming, not on run-tumble movements.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- The flexible linker of the secreted FliK ruler is required for export switching of the flagellar protein export apparatus.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Flagella-Driven Motility of Bacteria.Biomolecules · 2019Review
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Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Most bacteria swim in liquid environments by rotating one or several flagella. The long external filament of the flagellum is connected to a membrane-embedded basal body by a flexible universal joint, the hook, which allows the transmission of motor torque to the filament. The length of the hook is controlled on a nanometer scale by a sophisticated molecular ruler mechanism. However, why its length is stringently controlled has remained elusive. We engineered and studied a diverse set of hook-length variants of Salmonella enterica. Measurements of plate-assay motility, single-cell swimming speed, and directional persistence in quasi-2D and population-averaged swimming speed and body angular velocity in 3D revealed that the motility performance is optimal around the wild-type hook length. We conclude that too-short hooks may be too stiff to function as a junction and too-long hooks may buckle and create instability in the flagellar bundle. Accordingly, peritrichously flagellated bacteria move most efficiently as the distance travelled per body rotation is maximal and body wobbling is minimized. Thus, our results suggest that the molecular ruler mechanism evolved to control flagellar hook growth to the optimal length consistent with efficient bundle formation. The hook-length control mechanism is therefore a prime example of how bacteria evolved elegant but robust mechanisms to maximize their fitness under specific environmental constraints.
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