Flagella

Flagellum [Pl : Flagella] refers to a thread like structure that provides motility for certain bacteria
and protozoa (one, few or many per cell) and for spermatazoa (one per cell).
It has been observed that the presence of flagella strategically located on certain bacteria
(miroorganisms) has been known ever since the beginning of the nineteenth century ; besides, the actual
form of flagellation and motility have been exploited judiciously as a taxonomic tool in the logical
classification of bacterial variants.
Filaments : The flagella are nothing but surface appendages invariably found in motile bacteria,
and appear generally as filaments having diameter ranging between 1220 nm and length between
68 m. Importantly, the diameter of the individual flagellum in a culture is normally constant ; however,
the length may vary accordingly.
Location of Flagella : The exact location of the flagella in various bacteria varies widely and
specifically ; and could be either polar monotrichous or polar or bipolar or polar peritrichous as
shown in Fig. 2.9 ; and the number of flagella per cell also changes with the various bacterial species.
Flagellar Apparatus : Basically the flagellar apparatus consists of three distinct parts, namely :
(a) filament ; (b) hook ; and (c) basal granule. Importantly, the outermost structural segment of bacteria
is the filament which is a fibre essentially comprised of a specific protein termed as flagellin (a subunit
having molecular weight 20,000), and this is securedly attached to the basal granule with the help of the
hook.
Interestingly, both the basal granules and the hook essentially contain certain specific proteins
that are antigenically distinct from the flagellin (i.e., the protein of the filament).

Functioning of Flagella : The modus operandi of flagella are as given under :

(1) Flagella are fully responsible for the bacterial motility.
(2) Deflagellation by mechanical means renders the motile cells immotile.
(3) The apparent movement of the bacterial cell usually takes place by the critical rotation of the
flagella either in the clockwise or anticlockwise direction along its long axis.
(4) Bacterial cell possesses the inherent capacity to alter both the direction of rotation [as in (3)
above] and the speed ; besides, the meticulous adjustment of frequency of stops and starts
by the appropriate movement of the flagella.
(5) Evidently, the flagellated peritrichal* bacteria usually swim in a straight line over moderate
distances. In actual practice, these swim-across straight line runs are interrupted frequently