Limberger R J, Charon N W
J Bacteriol. 1986 Apr;166(1):105-12. doi: 10.1128/jb.166.1.105-112.1986.
Treponema phagedenis is an anaerobic, motile spirochete with several periplasmic flagella (PFs) at each cell end. This study provides the first genetic evidence that multiple protein species are associated with the PFs. In addition, these proteins were found to reside together on a given PF. Nonmotile mutants which lacked the PFs were isolated, and spontaneous revertants to motility regained the PFs. These results suggest that the PFs are involved in the motility of T. phagedenis. Isolated PFs had two major protein bands with molecular weights of 33,000 and 39,800, as revealed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Western blots with monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies indicated that both proteins were absent in the PF mutants but present in the revertants. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed that the 39,800-molecular-weight protein was distributed along the entire PF. Immunoprecipitation analysis suggested that the 39,800- and 33,000-molecular-weight proteins were closely associated in situ.
溃蚀性密螺旋体是一种厌氧的、具运动性的螺旋体，在每个细胞末端有几条周质鞭毛（PFs）。本研究提供了首个遗传学证据，证明多种蛋白质与周质鞭毛相关。此外，这些蛋白质被发现共同存在于一条特定的周质鞭毛上。分离出了缺乏周质鞭毛的非运动性突变体，并且自发回复到运动性的回复体重新获得了周质鞭毛。这些结果表明周质鞭毛参与了溃蚀性密螺旋体的运动。十二烷基硫酸钠-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳显示，分离出的周质鞭毛有两条主要的蛋白带，分子量分别为33,000和39,800。用单克隆抗体和多克隆抗体进行的蛋白质免疫印迹表明，这两种蛋白质在周质鞭毛突变体中不存在，但在回复体中存在。免疫电子显微镜显示，分子量为39,800的蛋白质沿整个周质鞭毛分布。免疫沉淀分析表明，分子量为39,800和33,000的蛋白质在原位紧密相关。
