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Review
. 1999 Dec;181(23):7149-53.
doi: 10.1128/JB.181.23.7149-7153.1999.

The bacterial flagellum: reversible rotary propellor and type III export apparatus

R M Macnab  1
Affiliations
Review

The bacterial flagellum: reversible rotary propellor and type III export apparatus

R M Macnab. J Bacteriol. 1999 Dec.
No abstract available

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Figures

FIG. 1
FIG. 1
The flagellum is the motor organelle for bacterial propulsion. Driven by a transmembrane proton gradient (H+→h+), it rotates both CCW and CW; the filament is helical and so converts torque into thrust. The motor consists of stators or Mot complexes (red) and a rotor or C ring (green), which also serves as the CCW⇄CW switch. As well as being the organelle of motility, the flagellum is a specialized type III export apparatus (lilac), translocating subunits of its substrates (pale blue) in an ATP-dependent manner across the plane of the cytoplasmic membrane (CM) and delivering them into a central channel in the basal body-hook-filament structure where they eventually reach their assembly point at the distal end of the structure. PG, peptidoglycan layer; OM, outer membrane.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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