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Science 20 March 2009:
Vol. 323. no. 5921, p. 1574
DOI: 10.1126/science.1170086
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Brevia

Flagellum Mediates Symbiosis

Takefumi Shimoyama,1,2 Souichiro Kato,1,3 Shun'ichi Ishii,1,4 Kazuya Watanabe1,2,3*

We report here molecular mechanisms underlying a bacteria-archaeon symbiosis. We found that a fermentative bacterium used its flagellum for interaction with a specific methanogenic archaeon. The archaeon perceived a bacterial flagellum protein and activated its metabolism (methanogenesis). Transcriptome analyses showed that a substantial number of genes in the archaeon, including those involved in the methanogenesis pathway, were up-regulated after the contact with the flagellum protein. These findings suggest that the bacterium communicates with the archaeon by using its flagellum.

1 Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Marine Biotechnology Institute, 3-75-1 Heita, Kamaishi, Iwate 026-0001, Japan.
2 Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8904, Japan.
3 Hashimoto Light Energy Conversion Project, Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
4 J. Craig Venter Institute, 10355 Science Center Drive, San Diego, CA 92121, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: watanabe{at}light.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)