Structure of the bacterial flagellar hook and implication for the molecular universal joint mechanism.
Samatey, F.A., Matsunami, H., Imada, K., Nagashima, S., Shaikh, T.R., Thomas, D.R., Chen, J.Z., Derosier, D.J., Kitao, A., Namba, K.(2004) Nature 431: 1062-1068
- PubMed: 15510139 
- DOI: 10.1038/nature02997
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
1WLG - PubMed Abstract: 
The bacterial flagellum is a motile organelle, and the flagellar hook is a short, highly curved tubular structure that connects the flagellar motor to the long filament acting as a helical propeller. The hook is made of about 120 copies of a single protein, FlgE, and its function as a nano-sized universal joint is essential for dynamic and efficient bacterial motility and taxis ...