Agrobacterium tumefaciens possesses a fourth flagelin gene located in a large gene cluster concerned with flagellar structure, assembly and motility

The authors have identified a fourth flagellin gene in a 21850 bp region of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58C1 chromosome containing at least 20 genes concerned with flagellar structure, assembly and function. Three flagellin genes, flaA, flaB and flaC, orientated rightward, are positioned in a tan...

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Published inMicrobiology (Society for General Microbiology) Vol. 145 ( Pt 6); p. 1397
Main Authors Deakin, William J, Parker, Victoria E, Wright, Emma L, Ashcroft, Kevin J, Loake, Gary J, Shaw, Charles H
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.06.1999
Subjects
Agrobacterium tumefaciens - genetics
Agrobacterium tumefaciens - metabolism
Amino Acid Sequence
Bacterial Proteins - genetics
Flagella - genetics
Flagella - physiology
Flagellin - genetics
Flagellin - isolation & purification
Flagellin - metabolism
Genes, Bacterial
Glycosylation
Membrane Proteins
Molecular Sequence Data
Multigene Family
Mutation
Phenotype
Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
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Summary:The authors have identified a fourth flagellin gene in a 21850 bp region of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58C1 chromosome containing at least 20 genes concerned with flagellar structure, assembly and function. Three flagellin genes, flaA, flaB and flaC, orientated rightward, are positioned in a tandem array at the right end, with the fourth, substantially larger gene, flaD, in the opposite orientation, at the left end. Between these lie four apparent operons, two transcribed in each direction (motA, flhB leftward; flgF, flgB rightward) from a divergent position approx 7.5 kb from the left end. This unifies the previously published motA, flgB and flaABC sequences into a single region, also containing the homologues of flhB, flgF and fliI. Site-specific mutagenesis of fliI results in a non-flagellate phenotype, while a Tn5-induced flhB mutant possesses abnormal flagella. Mutagenesis and protein profiling demonstrate that all four flagellins contribute to flagellar structure: FlaA is the major protein, FlaB and FlaC are present in lesser amounts, and FlaD is a minor component. FlaA has anomolous electrophoretic mobility, possibly due to glycosylation.
ISSN:1350-0872
DOI:10.1099/13500872-145-6-1397