motA (PA4954, Q9HUL1) notes

Review session 2026-11-05 (PseudoCAP IBA-seed protocol, tier 2)

Fetched with just fetch-gene PSEAE Q9HUL1 --alias motA; accession matches the
worklist. Unreviewed TrEMBL entry, named motA by the PAO1 genome annotation.
No deep-research provider key was available; literature is the stator papers
already used for motB (genes/PSEAE/motB).

Identity and literature

MotA-family protein, four predicted TM helices (UniProt FT TRANSMEM 7..29,
35..58, 170..190, 202..227), PF01618 MotA_ExbB + PF20560 MotA_N, TIGR03818
MotA1, PTHR30433:SF4.
P. aeruginosa has two stators. MotAB is PA4954-PA4953, MotCD is
PA1460-PA1461 PMID:15629949.
Caution: Doyle et al. 2004 (PMID:15375113) use the opposite names, calling
PA4954-PA4953 motCD and PA1460-PA1461 motAB.
Either stator supports swimming; loss of both MotA homologues abolishes
motility PMID:15375113.
The motAB single mutant swarms normally PMID:15629949; the
motCD mutant does not swarm on 0.5% agar or firmer; the double mutant neither
swims nor swarms.
Kuchma et al. 2015 (abstract only) report that motAB mutation stimulates
swarming and relieves c-di-GMP repression
PMID:25349157.
Chemotaxis is intact in stator mutants PMID:15375113, so the InterPro2GO
chemotaxis row is an over-annotation.

PseudoCAP IBA-seed assessment

The node-level GO_CENTRAL defect for PTN001252377 is recorded once, in
genes/PSEAE/motC (motC, PA1460, is the co-seed and has the direct single-mutant
swarming phenotype). The verdicts below are consistent with it and with the
parallel MotB node PTN001251133 (genes/PSEAE/motB).

PTN node	node term	n_seeds	leaf IBAs	seed annotation (term, evidence, PMID)	verdict	rationale	other seeds	IBD stands without this seed?
PTN001252377	GO:0071978 bacterial-type flagellum-dependent swarming motility	2 (Q9HUL1, G3XD73)	29 (19 taxa)	GO:0071978, IMP, PMID:15629949 and PMID:25349157 (PseudoCAP)	INDIRECT-PHENOTYPE	MotA is a genuine stator subunit, so flagellar motility is its own process, but neither seed paper shows a swarming requirement for motAB: the single mutant swarms like wild type (PMID:15629949) or better (PMID:25349157), and the defect needs the motCD double mutant. The term is kept as non-core context for the gene.	motC (G3XD73), sound: the motCD single mutant fails to swarm at 0.5% agar or above and motCD in trans restores swarming	Yes, for P. aeruginosa — the motC seed carries it. But the node term is still too specific for the 29-leaf clade (Aquifex, Thermotoga, Helicobacter, Leptospira, Rhodopirellula stators, no swarming data), so a GO_CENTRAL repoint to GO:0071973 is requested on motC.

Stator complex (GO:0120101) at the same node is seeded by E. coli MotA (P09348)
and is sound; it is accepted as the core location.

Decisions summary

ACCEPT: flagellum-dependent cell motility (IMP), stator complex (IBA), plasma
membrane (IEA).
KEEP_AS_NON_CORE: swarming motility (IBA, IEA, IMP x2).
MARK_AS_OVER_ANNOTATED: chemotaxis (IEA, InterPro2GO).
Counts: ACCEPT 3, KEEP_AS_NON_CORE 4, MARK_AS_OVER_ANNOTATED 1.
Defects: PSEUDOCAP 2 (WRONG_EVIDENCE_CODE on the PMID:15629949 row,
SUSPECTED; WRONG_TERM/CHECK on the PMID:25349157 row, SUSPECTED — abstract
only). GO_CENTRAL 0 here; the node defect is on motC.