Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40928260›Full record

ArticlemBio2025

Evolution and structural diversity of the MotAB stator: insights into the origins of bacterial flagellar motility.

Caroline Puente-Lelievre, Pietro Ridone, Jordan Douglas, Kaustubh Amritkar, Betül Kaçar, Matthew A B Baker, Nicholas J Matzke

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in mBio, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Caroline Puente-LelievreSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.ORCID 0000-0002-5763-9767
Pietro RidoneSchool of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-1614-8507
Jordan DouglasCentre for Computational Evolution, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.ORCID 0000-0003-0371-9961
Kaustubh AmritkarDepartment of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.ORCID 0009-0000-5270-3451
Betül KaçarDepartment of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0482-2357
Matthew A B BakerSchool of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-5839-6904
Nicholas J MatzkeSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.ORCID 0000-0002-8698-7656

Funding

Human Frontier Science Program RGY0072/21
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The rotation of the bacterial flagellum is powered by the MotAB stator complex, which converts ion flux into torque. Despite its central role in flagellar function, the evolutionary origin and structural diversity of this system remain poorly understood. Here, we present the first comprehensive phylogenetic and structural characterization of MotAB and its closest non-flagellar homologs. We gathered homologs from 205 genomes across 27 bacterial phyla, estimated phylogenies, inferred ancestral sequences, and predicted structures for both extant and inferred ancestral proteins using AlphaFold. Our analyses characterized two structurally distinct groups: flagellar ion transporters (FIT) and generic ion transporters (GIT). FIT proteins are structurally conserved, including a characteristic square fold domain and a torque-generating interface (TGI). We further delineate FIT proteins into two subgroups, TGI4 and TGI5s, based on the presence of 4 or 5 short helices within the TGI region. TGI5 motors, such as those found in the

Indexed as

BacteriaBacterial ProteinsEvolution, MolecularFlagellaMolecular Motor ProteinsPhylogenyProtein ConformationBacterial ProteinsMolecular Motor ProteinsMotB protein, Bacteriabacterial flagellumbacterial motilityMotABprotein phylogeneticsprotein structure

Identifiers

PMID40928260
PMCPMC12505986

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.