Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1973 Jan;113(1):478–485. doi: 10.1128/jb.113.1.478-485.1973

Synthesis and Structure of Caulobacter crescentus Flagella

Lucille Shapiro 1, J V Maizel Jr 2
PMCID: PMC251651  PMID: 4688664

Abstract

During the normal cell cycle of Caulobacter crescentus, flagella are released into the culture fluid as swarmer cells differentiate into stalked cells. The released flagellum is composed of a filament, hook, and rod. The molecular weight of purified flagellin (subunit of flagella filament) is 25,000 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The formation of a flagellum opposite the stalk has been observed by microscope during the differentiation of a stalked cell in preparation for cell division. By pulsing synchronized cultures with 14C-amino acids it has been demonstrated that the synthesis of flagellin occurs approximately 30 to 40 min before cell division. Flagellin, therefore, is synthesized at a discrete time in the cell cycle and is assembled into flagella at a specific site on the cell. A mutant of C. crescentus that fails to synthesize flagellin has been isolated.

Full text

PDF
478

Images in this article

480Image
on p.480
481Image
on p.481
482Image
on p.482
483Image
on p.483

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aamodt L. W., Eisenstadt J. M. Flagellar synthesis in Salmonella typhimurium: requirement for ribonucleic acid synthesis. J Bacteriol. 1968 Oct;96(4):1079–1088. doi: 10.1128/jb.96.4.1079-1088.1968. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Agabian-Keshishian N., Shapiro L. Bacterial differentiation and phage infection. Virology. 1971 Apr;44(1):46–53. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(71)90151-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Burge R. E., Draper J. C. Structure of bacterial flagella from Salmonella typhimurium: effects of hydration and some stains on the equatorial X-ray diffraction patterns of cast films. J Mol Biol. 1971 Feb 28;56(1):21–34. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(71)90081-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Champness J. N. X-ray and optical diffraction studies of bacterial flagella. J Mol Biol. 1971 Mar 14;56(2):295–310. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(71)90465-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. DePamphilis M. L., Adler J. Attachment of flagellar basal bodies to the cell envelope: specific attachment to the outer, lipopolysaccharide membrane and the cyoplasmic membrane. J Bacteriol. 1971 Jan;105(1):396–407. doi: 10.1128/jb.105.1.396-407.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. DePamphilis M. L., Adler J. Fine structure and isolation of the hook-basal body complex of flagella from Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol. 1971 Jan;105(1):384–395. doi: 10.1128/jb.105.1.384-395.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dimmitt K., Bradford S., Simon M. Synthesis of bacterial flagella. I. Requirement for protein and ribonucleic acid synthesis during flagellar regeneration in Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol. 1968 Mar;95(3):801–810. doi: 10.1128/jb.95.3.801-810.1968. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Dimmitt K., Simon M. Purification and thermal stability of intact Bacillus subtilis flagella. J Bacteriol. 1971 Jan;105(1):369–375. doi: 10.1128/jb.105.1.369-375.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Iino T. Genetics and chemistry of bacterial flagella. Bacteriol Rev. 1969 Dec;33(4):454–475. doi: 10.1128/br.33.4.454-475.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Newton A. Role of transcription in the temporal control of development in Caulobacter crescentus (stalk-rifampin-RNA synthesis-DNA synthesis-motility). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1972 Feb;69(2):447–451. doi: 10.1073/pnas.69.2.447. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. POINDEXTER J. S. BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE CAULOBACTER GROUP. Bacteriol Rev. 1964 Sep;28:231–295. doi: 10.1128/br.28.3.231-295.1964. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Schmidt J. M. Observations on the adsorption of Caulobacter bacteriophages containing ribonucleic acid. J Gen Microbiol. 1966 Nov;45(2):347–353. doi: 10.1099/00221287-45-2-347. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Schmidt J. M., Stanier R. Y. The development of cellular stalks in bacteria. J Cell Biol. 1966 Mar;28(3):423–436. doi: 10.1083/jcb.28.3.423. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Shapiro A. L., Viñuela E., Maizel J. V., Jr Molecular weight estimation of polypeptide chains by electrophoresis in SDS-polyacrylamide gels. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1967 Sep 7;28(5):815–820. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(67)90391-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Shapiro L., Agabian-Keshishian N., Bendis I. Bacterial differentiation. Science. 1971 Sep 3;173(4000):884–892. doi: 10.1126/science.173.4000.884. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Shapiro L., Agabian-Keshishian N., Hirsch A., Rosen O. M. Effect of dibutyryladenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate on growth and differentiation in Caulobacter crescentus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1972 May;69(5):1225–1229. doi: 10.1073/pnas.69.5.1225. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Shapiro L., Agabian-Keshishian N. Specific Assay for Differentiation in the Stalked Bacterium Caulobacter crescentus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1970 Sep;67(1):200–203. doi: 10.1073/pnas.67.1.200. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Valentine R. C., Shapiro B. M., Stadtman E. R. Regulation of glutamine synthetase. XII. Electron microscopy of the enzyme from Escherichia coli. Biochemistry. 1968 Jun;7(6):2143–2152. doi: 10.1021/bi00846a017. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES