title: The tetrameric MotA complex as the core of the flagellar motor stator from hyperthermophilic bacterium.
abstract: Rotation of bacterial flagellar motor is driven by the interaction between the stator and rotor, and the driving energy is supplied by ion influx through the stator channel. The stator is composed of the MotA and MotB proteins, which form a hetero-hexameric complex with a stoichiometry of four MotA and two MotB molecules. MotA and MotB are four- and single-transmembrane proteins, respectively. To generate torque, the MotA/MotB stator unit changes its conformation in response to the ion influx, and interacts with the rotor protein FliG. Here, we overproduced and purified MotA of the hyperthermophilic bacterium Aquifex aeolicus. A chemical crosslinking experiment revealed that MotA formed a multimeric complex, most likely a tetramer. The three-dimensional structure of the purified MotA, reconstructed by electron microscopy single particle imaging, consisted of a slightly elongated globular domain and a pair of arch-like domains with spiky projections, likely to correspond to the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains, respectively. We show that MotA molecules can form a stable tetrameric complex without MotB, and for the first time, demonstrate the cytoplasmic structure of the stator.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
authors.forename: Norihiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takekawa
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Terahara
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
authors.forename: Mizuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gohara
authors.affiliation: Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan.|JST, PRESTO, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.
authors.forename: Kouta
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mayanagi
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioscience, Nagahama Institute of BioScience and Technology, 1266 Tamura, Nagahama, 526-0829, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hijikata
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Onoue
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioscience, Nagahama Institute of BioScience and Technology, 1266 Tamura, Nagahama, 526-0829, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shirai
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Namba
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Homma
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D003902:Detergents / Q000378:metabolism; D005407:Flagella / Q000378:metabolism*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003902:Detergents; C063010:MotA protein, Bacteria