# Swarming motility and the regulation of flagellar biosynthesis in Bacillus subtilis

> **NIH NIH R35** · TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $489,825

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
 Many bacteria are motile by synthesizing corkscrew-like flagella which when rotated propel bacteria
through the environment. Each bacterium synthesizes a species-specific number of flagella and inserts the
flagella in a species-specific pattern on the cell surface. Flagella are complex nanomachines assembled from
dozens of different proteins and how each bacterial species controls flagellar number and patterning is poorly-
understood. Moreover, the number of flagella per cell increases when cells come into contact a solid surface to
initiate a form of surface motility called swarming. The Kearns lab uses classical forward genetics, super-
resolution microscopy, and biochemistry to study flagellar biosynthesis and swarming motility of the Gram
positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis. The goals of the project are to understand flagellar biosynthesis in the
context of growing cell architecture. First, we will determine how flagellar number is controlled by the poorly-
understood master regulator of flagellar biosynthesis SwrA and a response regulator DegU. Second, we will
explore how the surface contact response is transduced to inhibit the adaptor-mediated regulatory proteolysis
of SwrA and increase flagellar number. Third, we will learn how the flagellar rod insertion through
peptidoglycan occurs, and how rod length is controlled to match the thickness of peptidoglycan. Fourth, flagella
are synthesized in a grid-like pattern and we will study how flagellar patterning is interpreted and updated in
time during cell growth, and coordinated with peptidoglycan insertion. Ultimately, we want to achieve a holistic
understanding of how a cell dynamically governs the initiation of flagellar biosynthesis at specific locations to
insert the machine through the cell envelope. Our basic research is fundamental to how cells self-organize and
is applicable to the spatiotemporal control of the assembly of transenvelope nanomachines involved in
pathogenesis including flagella, pili and secretion systems like the injectisome.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10129397
- **Project number:** 5R35GM131783-03
- **Recipient organization:** TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Daniel B Kearns
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $489,825
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10129397

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10129397, Swarming motility and the regulation of flagellar biosynthesis in Bacillus subtilis (5R35GM131783-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10129397. Licensed CC0.

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