Cryo ‐electron tomography analyses of terminal organelle mutants suggest the motility mechanism of Mycoplasma genitalium

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Here, we visualized the terminal organelles of Mycoplasma genitalium deletion mutants by cellular cryo‐electron tomography. Individual protein ensembles act as springs that periodically expand and retract, causing the cell tip to move forward, while the backward movement is constrained by other proteins that act as a ratchet. This work is a rich resource of cryo‐electron tomograms that shed light into the molecular orchestration of the motility of this minimal genome organism.

Source: Molecular Microbiology - February 23, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Anja Seybert, Luis Gonzalez ‐Gonzalez, Margot P. Scheffer, Maria Lluch‐Senar, Ana M. Mariscal, Enrique Querol, Franziska Matthaeus, Jaume Piñol, Achilleas S. Frangakis Tags: Research Article Source Type: research