Science#04 in February 2026 EditionCryo-electron tomography reveals spatial organization of bacterial flagellar motor switch complexes
Amina Al-Mansoor, Julian Davies, Hiroshi Tanaka et al.
OPENSTEM EDITORIAL SUMMARY
What the research examines
In situ sub-tomogram averaging of intact Borrelia spirochetes reveals conformational ring rearrangements of FliG, FliM, and FliN protein subunits during directional motor rotational switching between clockwise and counter-clockwise states.
Why it may matter
Elucidates torque-generation mechanics in one of nature's most sophisticated nanomachines, inspiring biomimetic nano-rotors.
What to examine carefully
Sub-tomogram averaging requires thousands of computationally intensive manual particle alignments from frozen cell tomograms.
Editorial scope: This is a concise, independently written introduction based on the publisher information, not a full systematic review or independent replication. It must not replace reading the original methods, limitations and conclusions.
STUDENT RESEARCH LENS · ORIGINAL OPENSTEM NOTES
Try a small, reproducible follow-up
Calculate the rotational torque generated by a flagellar stator unit given proton motive force voltage and ion-flux stoichiometry.
Questions to investigate
- What steric shift in the FliG C-terminal domain alters stator torque coupling direction?
- How does phosphorylation of CheY trigger the coordinated cooperative switch across all 34 rotor subunits?
These are independently proposed educational investigations, not activities that the original research authors claim to have completed.
Publication & researcher information
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published online2026-02-19
Authors (selected)Amina Al-Mansoor, Julian Davies, Hiroshi Tanaka et al.
University / laboratoryYale University
CountryUnited States
Multi-author research may involve universities in several countries. Unverified institutions and contact addresses are not inferred from authors' names.