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Science 9 February 2007:
Vol. 315. no. 5813, pp. 853 - 856
DOI: 10.1126/science.1137223
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Reports

Evidence That Focal Adhesion Complexes Power Bacterial Gliding Motility

Tâm Mignot,1* Joshua W. Shaevitz,2 Patricia L. Hartzell,3 David R. Zusman1*

The bacterium Myxococcus xanthus has two motility systems: S motility, which is powered by type IV pilus retraction, and A motility, which is powered by unknown mechanism(s). We found that A motility involved transient adhesion complexes that remained at fixed positions relative to the substratum as cells moved forward. Complexes assembled at leading cell poles and dispersed at the rear of the cells. When cells reversed direction, the A-motility clusters relocalized to the new leading poles together with S-motility proteins. The Frz chemosensory system coordinated the two motility systems. The dynamics of protein cluster localization suggest that intracellular motors and force transmission by dynamic focal adhesions can power bacterial motility.

1 Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
2 Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
3 Department of Microbiology, Molecular Biology, and Biochemistry, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: tmignot{at}berkeley.edu (T.M.); zusman{at}berkeley.edu (D.R.Z.)

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