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1: Science. 2008 Jun 20;320(5883):1636-8.Click here to read Links
Comment in:
Science. 2008 Jun 20;320(5883):1599-600.

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.

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]