title: Bacteria that glide with helical tracks.
abstract: Many bacteria glide smoothly on surfaces, despite having no discernable propulsive organelles on their surface. Recent experiments with Myxococcus xanthus and Flavobacterium johnsoniae show that both of these distantly related bacterial species glide using proteins that move in helical tracks, albeit with significantly different motility mechanisms. Both species utilize proton-motive force for movement. Although the motors that power gliding in M. xanthus have been identified, the F. johnsoniae motors remain to be discovered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Beiyan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA.
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: McBride
authors.affiliation: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Zusman
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Electronic address: goster@berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Oster
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001692:Biological Transport; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D005417:Flavobacterium / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016941:Myxococcus xanthus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins