Halobacterial flagellins are encoded by a multigene family. Characterization of five flagellin genes.

Purified flagellar filaments of Halobacterium halobium contain three different protein species based on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These proteins were designated as flagellins Fla I, Fla II, and Fla III and were characterized as sulfated glycoproteins with N-glycosidically linked oligosaccharides of the type GlcA-(1----4)-GlcA-(1----4)-GlcA-(1----4)-Glc. All halobacterial flagellin polypeptides are immunologically cross-reactive. A gene fragment of one flagellin was isolated in an expression vector using antibody probes. Using this gene fragment as probe, we identified, subcloned, and determined the nucleotide sequences of five different but highly homologous flagellin genes. Two flagellin (flg) genes are arranged tandemly at one locus (flg A1 and -2), and the other three in a tandem arrangement at a different locus (flg B1, -2, and -3), Two flg mRNAs were detected, one from the A genes and the other from the B genes. Based on immunological analysis, the products of the flg A1 and A2 are Fla II and Fla I, respectively.

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