Structural and functional studies of Helicobacter pylori flagellar motor

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This project investigates the bacterial flagellar motor specialised for locomotion in viscous fluids. Its striking feature, revealed by cryo-tomography, is a complex cage-like protein scaffold that is hypothesised to stabilise the wider force-generating ring of the motor to sustain a larger turning force. The aim is to unravel the make-up of this scaffold and the structural basis for its ability to recruit more force-generating units, in order to advance our fundamental knowledge about the mechanism of the bacterial flagellar motor, and about strategies used by nature to increase its performance under high viscosity conditions. This research is expected to add a new paradigm for how polar flagellar motors assemble and function in bacteria.