An asymmetric structure of the Leptospira´s flagellar filament

Leptospira species, as all spirochetes, possess specially adapted endoflagella confined within the periplasm. Endoflagella are essential for the fast corkscrew-like swimming and pathogenicity of leptospires. However, little is known about the composition, function, and molecular architecture of these endoflagellar filaments. Through a combination of bacterial genetics, protein crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy/tomography, significant progress has been made in determining the 3D structures of complete Leptospira flagellar filament assemblies, revealing an asymmetric organization, comprising at least 14 different types of proteins.