Modulation of flagellar rotation in surface-attached bacteria: A pathway for rapid surface-sensing after flagellar attachment
Fig 11
A model for modulating flagellar rotation in response to surface tethering.
1) Swimming bacteria can make contact with a surface via their flagellum. 2) Continued flagellar rotation of these attached bacteria increases the load on the flagellar motor. MotCD must be present for tethered bacteria to rotate, suggesting that it is recruited to the motor in this setting. 3) FlhF interacts with FimV in tethered bacteria, which we propose leads to an increase in intracellular cAMP. cAMP is a sufficient signal to modulate flagellar switching frequency if MotAB is present in the cell. 4) Horizontal attachment of the cell body to a surface follows flagellar surface-tethering if FlhF and FimV are present in cells.