Single-File Diffusion of Flagellin in Flagellar Filaments

A bacterial flagellar filament is a cylindrical crystal of a protein known as flagellin. Flagellin subunits travel from the cytoplasm through a 2 nm axial pore and polymerize at the filament’s distal end. They are supplied by a pump in the cell membrane powered by a proton-motive force. In a recent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biophysical journal 2013-07, Vol.105 (1), p.182-184
Main Authors: Stern, Alan S., Berg, Howard C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacteria
cell membranes
crystal proteins
Cytoplasm
Diffusion
Flagella - metabolism
flagellin
Flagellin - chemistry
Flagellin - metabolism
Models, Molecular
Molecular Machines, Motors, and Nanoscale Biophysics
polymerization
Protein Structure, Secondary
Proteins
Protons
Simulation
travel
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Summary:A bacterial flagellar filament is a cylindrical crystal of a protein known as flagellin. Flagellin subunits travel from the cytoplasm through a 2 nm axial pore and polymerize at the filament’s distal end. They are supplied by a pump in the cell membrane powered by a proton-motive force. In a recent experiment, it was observed that growth proceeded at a rate of approximately one subunit every 2 s. Here, we asked whether transport of subunits through the pore at this rate could be effected by single-file diffusion, which we simulated by a random walk on a one-dimensional lattice. Assuming that the subunits are α-helical, the answer is yes, by a comfortable margin.
ISSN:0006-3495
1542-0086
DOI:10.1016/j.bpj.2013.05.030