Ford Katie M, Chawla Ravi, Lele Pushkar P
Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University.
Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University;
J Vis Exp. 2017 Jan 18(119):55240. doi: 10.3791/55240.
The role of flagellar motors in bacterial motility and chemotaxis is well-understood. Recent discoveries suggest that flagellar motors are able to remodel in response to a variety of environmental stimuli and are among the triggers for surface colonization and infections. The precise mechanisms by which motors remodel and promote cellular adaptation likely depend on key motor attributes. The photomultiplier-based bead-tracking technique presented here enables accurate biophysical characterization of motor functions, including adaptations in motor speeds and switch-dynamics. This approach offers the advantage of real-time tracking and the ability to probe motor behavior over extended durations. The protocols discussed can be readily extended to study flagellar motors in a variety of bacterial species.
鞭毛马达在细菌运动性和趋化性中的作用已得到充分理解。最近的发现表明，鞭毛马达能够响应各种环境刺激进行重塑，并且是表面定植和感染的触发因素之一。马达重塑并促进细胞适应的精确机制可能取决于关键的马达属性。本文介绍的基于光电倍增管的珠子跟踪技术能够对马达功能进行准确的生物物理表征，包括马达速度和开关动力学的适应性。这种方法具有实时跟踪的优势，并且能够在较长时间内探测马达行为。所讨论的方案可以很容易地扩展到研究各种细菌物种中的鞭毛马达。
