Torque-generating units of the bacterial flagellar motor step independently
Publication information:
Samuel, A. D. & Berg, H. Torque-generating units of the bacterial flagellar motor step independently. Biophysical Journal 71, 918–923 (1996).
Abstract
Measurements of the variance in rotation period of tethered cells as a function of mean rotation rate have shown that the flagellar motor of Escherichia coli is a stepping motor. Here, by measurement of the variance in rotation period as a function of the number of active torque-generating units, it is shown that each unit steps independently.