Autor: |
Lewis D. B. Evans, Colin Hughe, Gillian M. Fraser |
Jazyk: |
angličtina |
Rok vydání: |
2014 |
Předmět: |
|
Zdroj: |
Microbial Cell, Vol 1, Iss 2, Pp 64-66 (2014) |
Druh dokumentu: |
article |
ISSN: |
2311-2638 |
DOI: |
10.15698/mic2014.01.128 |
Popis: |
Flagella, the rotary propellers on the surface of bacteria, present a paradigm for how cells build and operate complex molecular ‘nanomachines’. Flagella grow at a constant rate to extend several times the length of the cell, and this is achieved by thousands of secreted structural subunits transiting through a central channel in the lengthening flagellum to incorporate into the nascent structure at the distant extending tip. A great mystery has been how flagella can assemble far outside the cell where there is no conventional energy supply to fuel their growth. Recent work published by Evans et al.[Nature (2013) 504: 287-290], has gone some way towards solving this puzzle, presenting a simple and elegant transit mechanism in which growth is powered by the subunits themselves as they link head-to-tail in a chain that is pulled through the length of the growing structure to the tip. This new mechanism answers an old question and may have resonance in other assembly processes. |
Databáze: |
Directory of Open Access Journals |
Externí odkaz: |
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