γ-proteobacteria eject their polar flagella under nutrient depletion, retaining flagellar motor relic structures
Bacteria switch only intermittently to motile planktonic lifestyles under favourable conditions. Under chronic nutrient deprivation, however, bacteria orchestrate a switch to stationary phase, conserving energy by altering metabolism and stopping motility. About two-thirds of bacteria use flagella to swim, but how bacteria deactivate this large-molecular machine remains poorly studied. Here we describe the previously unreported ejection of polar sodium-driven motors by {gamma}-proteobacteria. We show that these bacteria eject their flagella at the base of the flagellar hook when nutrients are depleted, leaving a relic of a former flagellar motor in the outer membrane. Subtomogram averages of the full motor and relic reveal that this is an active process, as a plug protein appears in the relic, likely to prevent leakage across their outer membrane. We show that this is a widespread phenomenon demonstrated by the appearance of relic structures in varied {gamma}-proteobacteria including Plesiomonas shigelloides, Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio fischeri, Shewanella putrefaciens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.