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A tetratricopeptide repeat domain protein has profound effects on assembly of periplasmic flagella, morphology and motility of the lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi
Author(s) -
Moon Ki Hwan,
Zhao Xiaowei,
Xu Hui,
Liu Jun,
Motaleb Md A.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1111/mmi.14121
Subject(s) - tetratricopeptide , biology , periplasmic space , borrelia burgdorferi , flagellum , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , gene , escherichia coli , antibody
Summary Spirochetes possess a unique periplasmic flagellar motor component called the collar. However, little is known about the composition or function of the flagellar collar proteins. To identify a collar protein, we have inactivated almost all genes annotated as motility‐related in the Borrelia burgdorferi genome and identified only FlbB, which comprises the base of the collar. Since the major components of the collar complex remained unidentified, we took advantage of a protein–protein interaction map developed in another spirochete, Treponema pallidum to identify proteins of unknown function that could be collar proteins. Subsequently, using various comprehensive approaches, we identified a tetratricopeptide repeat protein BB0236 as a potential candidate for the collar. Biochemical assays indicated that FlbB interacts with BB0236. Furthermore, ∆ bb0236 mutant analyses indicated that BB0236 is crucial for collar structure assembly, cellular morphology, motility, orientation of periplasmic flagella and assembly of other flagellar structures. Moreover, using comparative motor analyses, we propose how the collar structure is assembled in B. burgdorferi . Together, our studies provide new insights into the organization and the complex assembly inherent to the unique spirochetal collar structure.