The Bacterial Flagellar Engine: Automatic Gearshift, Efficient Model Discovery

This lecture explores the automatic gearshift mechanism in the bacterial flagellar engine, allowing it to adapt to changing loads. The instructor discusses the physical and molecular mechanisms underlying this gearshift, including electrorotation for load control and torque production variations. The lecture delves into stator remodeling in response to load changes, proposing a quantitative model for stator assembly. It also covers torque-dependent unbinding rates, torque anisotropy testing, and the collapse of data validating the model. The presentation concludes with acknowledgments and references related to the research.