Role of CheW Protein in Coupling Membrane Receptors to the Intracellular Signaling System of Bacterial Chemotaxis

Chemotactic behavior in Escherichia coli is mediated by membrane-associated chemoreceptors that transmit sensory signals to the flagellar motors through an intracellular signaling system, which appears to involve a protein phosphorylation cascade. This study concerns the role of CheW, a cytoplasmic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1989-11, Vol.86 (22), p.8703-8707
Main Authors: Liu, Jingdong, Parkinson, John S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacterial Proteins - genetics
Bacterial Proteins - metabolism
Bacteriology
Biochemistry
Biological and medical sciences
Chemotactic Factors - metabolism
Chemotaxis
CheW protein
Escherichia coli - genetics
Escherichia coli - metabolism
Escherichia coli - physiology
Escherichia coli Proteins
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genes, Bacterial
Membrane Proteins - metabolism
Methyl-Accepting Chemotaxis Proteins
Microbiology
Models, Theoretical
Modulated signal processing
Molecular rotation
Molecules
Motility, taxis
Overproduction
Phosphorylation
Plasmids
Receptors
Restriction Mapping
Rotation
Signal Transduction
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Summary:Chemotactic behavior in Escherichia coli is mediated by membrane-associated chemoreceptors that transmit sensory signals to the flagellar motors through an intracellular signaling system, which appears to involve a protein phosphorylation cascade. This study concerns the role of CheW, a cytoplasmic protein, in coupling methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins (MCPs), the major class of membrane receptors, to the intracellular signaling system. Steady-state flagellar rotation behavior was examined in a series of strains with different combinations and relative amounts of CheW, MCPs, and other signaling components. At normal expression levels, CheW stimulated clockwise rotation, and receptors appeared to enhance this stimulatory effect. At high expression levels, MCPs inhibited clockwise rotation, and CheW appeared to augment this inhibitory effect. Since overexpression of CheW or MCP molecules had the same behavioral effect as their absence, chemoreceptors probably use CheW to modulate two distinct signals, one that stimulates and one that inhibits the intracellular phosphorylation cascade.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.86.22.8703