ISOLATION AND ULTRASTRUCTURAL-STUDY OF THE FLAGELLAR BASAL BODY COMPLEX FROM RHODOBACTER-SPHAEROIDES WS8 (WILD-TYPE) AND A POLYHOOK MUTANT PG

Filament-Hook-Basal Body (FHBB) complexes were isolated from the purpl e non-sulphur facultative anaerobic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides (WS8) by lysozyme digestion of the cells followed by an alkaline treat ment and ultracentrifugation, and they were analysed by electron micro scopy. The structure is composed of a filament linked through an enlar ged junction to the hook and a basal body composed of L and P rings, a rod, and a less well-defined cytoplasmic ring that has evidence of ad ditional attached structures. Hook-basal body complexes isolated from a mutant (PG) which produces an extended hook but no filament shows ba sal body structures identical to those of wild-type FHBBs. (C) 1997 Ac ademic Press.