Gram Positive Flagella

[Ericchiriboga]

So, gram negative flagella have the L and P rings to help act as bushings in the LPS and peptidoglycan layers, respectively. Gram positive bacteria have a thick peptidoglycan layer, but no P ring to help the rod component rotate easily through it. I was just wondering if the biology of how it rotates despite the lack of a P ring is known- are there any known adaptions of the flagellum to allow this? Any elucidation to satisfy my curiosity would be nice.

[Ericchiriboga]

I'm not sure anyone besides myself is terribly interested in the answer, but I found this nonetheless:

The structure and regulation of flagella in Bacillus subtilis

Sampriti Mukherjee and Daniel B. Kearns

"The B. subtilis basal body differs from that of S. enterica and E. coli in two critical ways. First, B. subtilis appears to lack bushing proteins. The bushings in Gram negative bacteria are two different proteins that form separate rings in the peptidoglycan layer and outer membrane respectively that allow the rod to transit and spin freely in the context of the cell envelope (135). The bushings may also function as a torque stabilizer by direct interaction with the proton channel stators (57). B. subtilis does not encode homologs of the bushing proteins and electron microscopy of purified basal bodies does not seem to indicate ring-like densities that could potentially be attributed to bushing-like structures (38, 81). Perhaps B. subtilis encodes as-yet-undiscovered bushing proteins that do not resemble those of Gram negative bacteria. Alternatively, the Gram positive envelope structure alone may serve as a sufficient bearing and stabilizer for flagellar rotation."

[iNow]

29 minutes ago, Ericchiriboga said:

I'm not sure anyone besides myself is terribly interested

Apologies. The only time bacteria flagella ever enter my mind is when I’m considering how deeply and frustratingly ignorant creationism is yet how fervently the pious and faithful believe it. 

Glad you found your answer, though. Thanks for sharing. 

[BabcockHall]

As a general rule B. subtilis does chemotaxis in a different (sometime opposite) way versus E. coli.  I never thought about bushings before, but I will ask around.

[Ericchiriboga]

Sure, if you find anything else out, I'd love to hear it.