Journal article
The metabolic cost of flagellar motion in Pseudomonas putida KT2440 : Cost vs. benefit ofP. putida's flagella
Systems Biology Program, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología-CSIC, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.1
Although the flagellar machinery of environmental bacteria endows cells with a phenomenal survival device, it also consumes much of the metabolic currency necessary for fuelling such a vigorous nano-motor. The physiological cost of flagella-related functions of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440 was examined and quantified through the deletion of a ≈ 70 kb DNA segment of the genome (≈ 1.1%), which includes relevant structural and regulatory genes in this micro-organism.
The resulting strain lacked the protruding polar cords that define flagella in the wild-type P. putida strain and was unable of any swimming motility while showing a significant change in surface hydrophobicity. However, these deficiencies were otherwise concomitant with clear physiological advantages: rapid adaptation of the deleted strain to both glycolytic and gluconeogenic carbon sources, increased energy charge and, most remarkably, improved tolerance to oxidative stress, reflecting an increased NADPH/NADP(+) ratio.
These qualities improve the endurance of non-flagellated cells to the metabolic fatigue associated with rapid growth in rich medium. Thus, flagellar motility represents the archetypal tradeoff involved in acquiring environmental advantages at the cost of a considerable metabolic burden.
Language: | English |
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Publisher: | Wiley |
Year: | 2014 |
Pages: | 291-303 |
ISSN: | 14622920 and 14622912 |
Types: | Journal article |
DOI: | 10.1111/1462-2920.12309 |