# PRINCIPLES OF SENSORY RECEPTION AND MOTOR FUNCTION

> **NIH NIH R01** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 1992 · $289,062

## Abstract

The long-term objective of the proposed research is an
understanding of one of the simplest of mechanoenzymes, namely,
the bacterial flagellar motor, the organelle that enables
bacteria to swim and to display the simple behavior of
chemotaxis.  An understanding of this system contributes to an
understanding of several basic biological principles, such as
energy conversion, device switching between states, organelle
assembly, the structure of macromolecular complexes, and the
genetic control of complex integrated systems; together with
studies in other laboratories, it also contributes to an
understanding of sensory processing and of modulation of effector
organelles by such information.  Furthermore, it assists and
complements studies being undertaken elsewhere, concerning the
ecological consequences of motility and chemotaxis of bacteria,
including human pathogens and symbionts, plant pathogens and
symbionts, and free-living species.  Since many of these species
are not as well understood genetically as Salmonella typhimurium
and Escherichia coli, the detailed molecular information that can
be generated in the latter two species is extremely useful in
guiding the more applied environmental research.

The immediate goal is the identification of all genes involved in
flagellation and motility, identification of their products,
determination of their location in the cell, and determination of
their functional role.  Because of the complexity of this
"simple" system (ca. 40 genes) this is a considerable task, and
although much has been accomplished in this regard already, much
remains to be done.  The approaches will include genetics,
molecular genetics, biochemistry, and electron microscopy.
Cloning of the relevant genes will be completed, and their
products identified by a minicell method.  Cloning of the
relevant genes will be completed, and their products identified
by a minicell method.  Characterization of the flagellar basal
body will be continued in terms of identity and numbers of
subunits of each component.  Components that are known
genetically, but are not in the flagellum as currently isolated,
will be sought using less extreme isolation protocols.  Physical
interactions between different components will be studied by a
gel overlay technique analogous to western blotting.  An attempt
will be made to determine the means by which the flagellar motor
is anchored to the cell surface.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3125134
- **Project number:** 5R01AI012202-19
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** FL6GV84CKN57
- **Principal Investigator:** ROBERT M MACNAB
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1992
- **Award amount:** $289,062
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1977-01-01 → 1994-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3125134

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3125134, PRINCIPLES OF SENSORY RECEPTION AND MOTOR FUNCTION (5R01AI012202-19). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3125134. Licensed CC0.

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