Université de Fribourg

An infrequent molecular ruler controls flagellar hook length in Salmonella enterica

Erhardt, Marc ; Singer, Hanna M. ; Wee, Daniel H. ; Keener, James P. ; Hughes, Kelly T.

In: The EMBO Journal, 2011, vol. 30, no. 14, p. 2948-2961

The bacterial flagellum consists of a long external filament connected to a membrane- embedded basal body at the cell surface by a short curved structure called the hook. In Salmonella enterica, the hook extends 55 nm from the cell surface. FliK, a secreted molecular ruler, controls hook length. Upon hook completion, FliK induces a secretion- specificity switch to filament-type substrate...