The archaellum, or archaeal ‘flagellum’, includes asparagine-linked glycans that are important for efficient cell motility in archaea through unclear mechanisms. Here, the authors show that glycan truncation leads to clustering of filaments and alterations in cell motility, suggesting that the glycans minimize archaellum filament aggregation that compromises cell motility.
- Shahar Sofer
- Zlata Vershinin
- Iris Grossman-Haham