Towards Elucidating the Rotary Mechanism of the Archaellum Machinery
João Nuno de Sousa Machado, Sonja‐Verena Albers, Bertram Daum
Abstract
Motile archaea swim by means of a molecular machine called the archaellum. This structure consists of a filament attached to a membrane-embedded motor. The archaellum is found exclusively in members of the archaeal domain, but the core of its motor shares homology with the motor of type IV pili (T4P). Here, we provide an overview of the different components of the archaellum machinery and hypothetical models to explain how rotary motion of the filament is powered by the archaellum motor.
Topics & Concepts
Protein filamentMolecular machineMechanism (biology)ArchaeaPilusMolecular motorBiologyHomology (biology)Rotary enginePhysicsBiophysicsEngineeringBacteriaMechanical engineeringGeneticsQuantum mechanicsVirulenceGenePhotoreceptor and optogenetics researchProtein Structure and DynamicsLipid Membrane Structure and Behavior