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Journal of Bacteriology, March 2005, p. 2058-2065, Vol. 187, No. 6
0021-9193/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.187.6.2058-2065.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Magnesium Promotes Flagellation of Vibrio fischeri

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, Illinois,¹ Department of Biology, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, Indiana,² CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Hirata, Takanezawa, Shioya-gun, Tochigi, Japan³

Received 30 November 2004/ Accepted 1 December 2004

The bacterium Vibrio fischeri requires bacterial motility to initiate colonization of the Hawaiian squid Euprymna scolopes. Once colonized, however, the bacterial population becomes largely unflagellated. To understand environmental influences on V. fischeri motility, we investigated migration of this organism in tryptone-based soft agar media supplemented with different salts. We found that optimal migration required divalent cations and, in particular, Mg²⁺. At concentrations naturally present in seawater, Mg²⁺ improved migration without altering the growth rate of the cells. Transmission electron microscopy and Western blot experiments suggested that Mg²⁺ addition enhanced flagellation, at least in part through an effect on the steady-state levels of flagellin protein.

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