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    Science. 2008 Jun 20;320(5883):1636-8.

    A molecular clutch disables flagella in the Bacillus subtilis biofilm.

    Blair KM, Turner L, Winkelman JT, Berg HC, Kearns DB.

    Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.

    Comment in:

    Biofilms are multicellular aggregates of sessile bacteria encased by an extracellular matrix and are important medically as a source of drug-resistant microbes. In Bacillus subtilis, we found that an operon required for biofilm matrix biosynthesis also encoded an inhibitor of motility, EpsE. EpsE arrested flagellar rotation in a manner similar to that of a clutch, by disengaging motor force-generating elements in cells embedded in the biofilm matrix. The clutch is a simple, rapid, and potentially reversible form of motility control.

    PMID: 18566286 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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