Characterization of the Chemoreceptors in the Bacillus Subtilis Chemotaxis System

Abstract

146 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008.Physical characterization of the chemoreceptors was probed by identification of a zinc ion binding area, using isothermal titration calorimetry. In addition, in vivo chemotactic assays showed that altering the charges of the methylation sites on the chemoreceptors can have a significant effect on the activity of the receptor. Furthermore, individual methylation sites were shown to be responsible for both changes in the affinity of the chemoreceptor for attractant and receptor activation. These findings suggest a novel, more complicated role for methylation than previously suggested, and lead to a clearer picture of the coordination of the three adaptational systems in the B. subtilis chemotactic sensory transduction.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD