How bacteria turbocharged their motors

Using detailed 3D images, researchers have shown how bacteria have evolved molecular motors of different powers to optimize their swimming. The discovery, by a team from Imperial College London, provides insights into evolution at the molecular scale. Bacteria use molecular motors just tens of nanometres wide to spin a tail (or 'flagellum') that pushes them through their habitat. Like human-made motors, the structure of these nanoscale machines determines their power and the bacteria's swimming ability. Bacterial motors are complex machines, but with studies like this we can see how they have evolved in distinct steps. Dr Morgan Beeby Previously, the team from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial looked at these motors and discovered a key factor that determined how strongly bacteria could swim. Like human-made motors, bacterial motors have distinct 'stator' and 'rotor' components that spin against each other.