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Journal of Bacteriology, January 2006, p. 542-555, Vol. 188, No. 2
0021-9193/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.188.2.542-555.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Polar Flagellum Biogenesis in Aeromonas hydrophila

Rocío Canals,1 Silvia Ramirez,1 Silvia Vilches,1 Gavin Horsburgh,2 Jonathan G. Shaw,2 Juan M. Tomás,1* and Susana Merino1

Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08071 Barcelona, Spain,1 Division of Genomic Medicine, University of Sheffield School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sheffield S10 2RX, United Kingdom2

Received 25 July 2005/ Accepted 12 October 2005

Mesophilic Aeromonas spp. constitutively express a single polar flagellum that helps the bacteria move to more favorable environments and is an important virulence and colonization factor. Certain strains can also produce multiple lateral flagella in semisolid media or over surfaces. We have previously reported 16 genes (flgN to flgL) that constitute region 1 of the Aeromonas hydrophila AH-3 polar flagellum biogenesis gene clusters. We identified 39 new polar flagellum genes distributed in four noncontiguous chromosome regions (regions 2 to 5). Region 2 contained six genes (flaA to maf-1), including a modification accessory factor gene (maf-1) that has not been previously reported and is thought to be involved in glycosylation of polar flagellum filament. Region 3 contained 29 genes (fliE to orf29), most of which are involved in flagellum basal body formation and chemotaxis. Region 4 contained a single gene involved in the motor stator formation (motX), and region 5 contained the three master regulatory genes for the A. hydrophila polar flagella (flrA to flrC). Mutations in the flaH, maf-1, fliM, flhA, fliA, and flrC genes, as well as the double mutant flaA flaB, all caused loss of polar flagella and reduction in adherence and biofilm formation. A defined mutation in the pomB stator gene did not affect polar flagellum motility, in contrast to the motX mutant, which was unable to swim even though it expressed a polar flagellum. Mutations in all of these genes did not affect lateral flagellum synthesis or swarming motility, showing that both A. hydrophila flagellum systems are entirely distinct.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08071 Barcelona, Spain. Phone: 34-93-4021486. Fax: 34-93-4039047. E-mail: jtomas{at}ub.edu.

Journal of Bacteriology, January 2006, p. 542-555, Vol. 188, No. 2
0021-9193/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.188.2.542-555.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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