4.8 Article

Adaptation at the output of the chemotaxis signalling pathway

Journal

NATURE
Volume 484, Issue 7393, Pages 233-U115

Publisher

NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nature10964

Keywords

-

Funding

  1. National Institutes of Health [AI016478]
  2. EMBO

Ask authors/readers for more resources

In the bacterial chemotaxis network, receptor clusters process input(1-3), and flagellar motors generate output(4). Receptor and motor complexes are coupled by the diffusible protein CheY-P. Receptor output (the steady-state concentration of CheY-P) varies from cell to cell(5). However, the motor is ultrasensitive, with a narrow operating range of CheY-P concentrations(6). How the match between receptor output and motor input might be optimized is unclear. Here we show that the motor can shift its operating range by changing its composition. The number of FliM subunits in the C-ring increases in response to a decrement in the concentration of CheY-P, increasing motor sensitivity. This shift in sensitivity explains the slow partial adaptation observed in mutants that lack the receptor methyltransferase and methylesterase(7,8) and why motors show signal-dependent FliM turnover(9). Adaptive remodelling is likely to be a common feature in the operation of many molecular machines.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.8
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available