= M. A. Motaleb
{c}
<M. A. Motaleb> studied the mechanical roles of internal <flagella> in <Borrelia burgdorferi>. In a 2000 experiment, disrupting the gene for the major flagellar filament component eliminated motility and changed the normally wave-shaped <bacteria> into rod-shaped cells.<Borrelia burgdorferi periplasmic flagella have both skeletal and motility functions by M. A. Motaleb and others>[Abstract and flaB disruption results]{ref}
The shape change supplied evidence that the periplasmic <flagella> contribute to cellular architecture as well as propulsion. A structure can consequently function both as a motor-driven assembly and as a mechanical constraint on the surrounding <cell>. This interpretation combines observations of movement and form, rather than treating loss of motility as the only relevant mutant phenotype.
\Image[https://news.ecu.edu/wp-content/pv-uploads/sites/80/2018/05/img2175_01.jpg]
{title=Portrait of <M. A. Motaleb>}
{description=Doug Boyd / East Carolina University. The institutional caption identifies the researcher studying Borrelia motility.}
{source=https://news.ecu.edu/2011/11/17/grant-to-fund-study-of-lyme-disease/}
{width=260}
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