Open AccessFlhF Is Required for Swimming and Swarming in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Author(s) -
Thomas S. Murray,
Barbara I. Kazmierczak
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.652
H-Index - 246
eISSN - 1067-8832
pISSN - 0021-9193
DOI - 10.1128/jb.00790-06
Subject(s) - flagellin , swarming motility , swarming (honey bee) , flagellum , biology , bacteria , microbiology and biotechnology , motility , pseudomonas aeruginosa , biofilm , genetics , quorum sensing
FlhF is a signal recognition particle-like protein present in monotrichous bacteria. The loss of FlhF in various bacteria results in decreased transcription of class II, III, or IV flagellar genes, leads to diminished or absent motility, and results in the assembly of flagella at nonpolar locations on the cell surface. In this work, we demonstrate that the loss of FlhF results in defective swimming and swarming motility ofPseudomonas aeruginosa . The FlhF protein localizes to the flagellar pole; in the absence of FlhF, flagellar assembly occurs but is no longer restricted to the pole. ΔflhF bacteria swim at lower velocities than wild-type bacteria in liquid media and can no longer swarm when assayed under standard swarming conditions (0.5% agar). However, ΔflhF bacteria regain swarming behavior when plated on 0.3% agar. ΔflhF organisms show decreased transcription and expression of flagellin (FliC) both in liquid media and on swarming plates compared to wild-type bacteria. However, changes in flagellin expression do not explain the different motility patterns observed for ΔflhF bacteria. Instead, the aberrant placement of flagella in ΔflhF bacteria may reduce their ability to move this rod-shaped organism effectively.