Glycosylated flagellin of the polar flagellum of the plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 was for the first time isolated and characterized by biochemical and bioinformatics methods. Using the amino acid sequence taken from the NCBI database of bacterial whole-genome DNA sequencing, the secondary and tertiary structures of the protein part of this glycoprotein were determined by template-based molecular modeling. With the use of a set of predictors, regions of its intrinsic structural disorder were identified, and binding sites of carbohydrate fragments to the surface of the molecule were determined. A positive effect of the polar flagellum flagellin on the root meristem of wheat seedlings was for the first time revealed for associative bacteria. The effect was manifested in an increase in the division rate of plant cells - a significant increase in the mitotic index. Thus, the induction of specific responses of plants to their interactions with flagellin of the associative bacteria may probably be considered as a demonstration of its elicitor properties.
Keywords: Azospirillum; Flagellin; Plant root meristem.
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