The new flagella-associated collagen-like proteins ClpB and ClpC of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42 are involved in bacterial motility

Collagen-like proteins (CLPs) share the distinctive Gly-X-Thr repeating amino acid sequence of animal collagens, and contain N- and C-terminal domain making a collagen-like structure in Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42, a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium. Our previous study demonstrated that CLPs play important roles in biofilm construction and adherence to the surfaces on plant roots. However, bacterial localization of the CLPs remains unclear. Here, disrupted strains on all four clp genes (clpA, clpB, clpC and clpD) shown fewer filament than wild-type bacteria in extracellular matrix under scanning electron microscope (SEM). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to observe the differences on filament which associated on the cell surface, then the CLPs mutation strains showed less flagella than the wild type. Immunogold labeling determined the location that ClpB and ClpC localized on the flagella surface. In addition, western blotting analysis of crude flagella extracts suggested that the ClpB and ClpC are associated to flagella as well. The mutation strains also reduced motility of swimming on the surface of soft agar medium and changed the architectural of microcolony biofilm edge. The study suggests that collagen-like protein ClpB and ClpC, as novel proteins, associated with flagella in B. amyloliquefaciens.