View All Topics !

Flagella – Introduction, Types,

Examples, Parts, Functions and
Flagella Staining- Principle, Procedure
and Interpretation
Last updated: August 10, 2022 by Sagar Aryal

Introduction of Flagella
Flagella are the complex filamentous cytoplasmic
structure protruding through cell wall. These are
unbranched, long, thread like structures, mostly
composed of the protein flagellin, intricately
embedded in the cell envelope.  They are about
12-30 nm in diameter and 5-16 µm in length. They
are responsible for the bacterial motility. Motility
plays an important role in survival and the ability
of certain bacteria to cause disease.

Types and Examples of Flagella

There are 4 types of flagellar distribution on
bacteria:

peritrichous
atrichous monotrichous

lophotrichous
amphitrichous

1. Monotrichous

– Single polar flagellum

– Example: Vibrio cholerae

2. Amphitrichous

– Single flagellum on both sides

– Example: Alkaligens faecalis

3. Lophotrichous

– Tufts of flagella at one or both sides

Blood
··· is
Pressure
serious

– Example: Spirillum

4. Peritrichous

– Numerous falgella all over the bacterial body

– Example: Salmonella Typhi 

Parts of Flagella
Each flagellum consists of three distinct
parts- Filament, Hook and Basal Body.

The filament lies external to the cell.

Hook is embedded in the cell envelope.

Basal Body is attached to the cytoplasmic

membrane by ring-like structures.

-Flagellum Flagellum
Gram- Filament
negative Gram- Filament
Hook positive

Basalbody
Cellwall
Peptidoglycan •Hook
Cellwall
Outer Basalbody
membrane
Peptidoglycan

Plasma Plasma
membrane membrane
Cytoplasm Cytoplasm
(a)Partsandattachmentofaflagellumofa (b)Partsandattachmentofaflagellumofa
gram-negativebacterium gram-positivebacterium

Functions of Flagella
Movements
Sensation
Signal transduction
Adhesion
For cells anchored in a tissue, like the
epithelial cells lining our air passages, this
moves liquid over the surface of the cell
(e.g., driving particle-laden mucus toward
the throat).
Flagella are generally accepted as being
important virulence factors

···

Principle of Flagella Staining

A wet mount technique for staining bacterial
flagella is simple and is useful when the number
and arrangement of flagella are critical in
identifying species of motile bacteria.

Procedure of Flagella Staining

1. Grow the organisms to be stained at room
temperature on blood agar for 16 to 24
hours.
2. Add a small drop of water to a microscope
slide.
3. Dip a sterile inoculating loop into sterile
water
4. Touch the loopful of water to the colony
margin briefly (this allows motile cells to
swim into the droplet of water).
5. Touch the loopful of motile cells to the drop
of water on the slide.
6. Cover the faintly turbid drop of water on
the slide with a cover slip. A proper wet
mount has barely enough liquid to fill the
space under a cover slip. Small air spaces
around the edge are preferable.
7. Examine the slide immediately under 40x
for motile cells.
8. If motile cells are seen, leave the slide at
room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes.
9. Apply 2 drops of RYU flagella stain gently
on the edge of the cover slip. The stain will
flow by capillary action and mix with the
cell suspension.
10. After 5 to 10 minutes at room temperature,
examine the cells for flagella.
11. Cells with flagella may be observed at
100x.

Blood Pressure is serious

···

Staining

Observe
the slide
and note
the
following:

1. Presence or absence of flagella

2. Number of flagella per cell
3. Location of flagella per cell

Similar Posts:
Endospore Staining- Principle, Reagents,
Procedure and Result
Negative Staining- Principle, Reagents,
Procedure and Result
Blood cells and its types with functions
Motility Test – Principle, Procedure, Uses
and Interpretation

···

! Cell Biology, Staining Techniques

8 thoughts on “Flagella – Introduction, Types,

Examples, Parts, Functions and Flagella
Staining- Principle, Procedure and
Interpretation”

Scarlett
March 9, 2020 at 8:36 AM

Could you please tell me why

monotrichous swim faster? Is it because
of their chemotropism?

Reply

Gideon Bassey
August 17, 2021 at 8:13 PM

These flagellum act independently on

their own. So it will be more easy and
simple to coordinate one
flagellum(monotrichous) than anyother
type.
Just like imagining running with 10 legs
compared to running with two legs.
You will need more coordination to run
with 10 legs.
And also it will be easy to supply enough
proton motive force to power one
flagellum than many flagella

Reply

Debra
April 18, 2017 at 3:56 AM

Could you kindly list all possible flagellated

bacteria which could cause a postive IgG
or IgM 41 antibody response? Thank you!

Reply

Dr Vishwapriya Babu
November 18, 2016 at 9:31 PM

Hello sir.. kindly tell the example for

amphilophotrichous flagella

Reply

udeaja uche
February 21, 2016 at 5:42 AM

may d sky be ur limit …d diff b/w gram

positive and negative are
*gram positive posses lipoteichoic acid
while negative posses brain lipoprotein
*gram+ have 3 layers while gram – has 2
layers

Reply

sridevi
August 27, 2015 at 2:36 PM

can you please tell me the gene name

which responsible for the formation of
monotrichous, lophotricous, peritrichous
and amphitrichous?

Reply

Syed Fiaz Hussain

April 21, 2015 at 11:57 PM

Nice basic information but it is not clearly

mentioned the difference of Gram Positive
and Gram Negative bacterial Flagellum or
Flagella.

Reply

riya
July 15, 2022 at 6:25 PM

in gram +ve bacteria ,2 flagella rings are

present in basal body while in gram -ve
bacteria ,4 flagella rings are present

Reply

Leave a Comment

Name *

Email *

Save my name and email in this browser for the

next time I comment.

Post Comment

Search …

Top 10 Popular Posts

Glycolysis Explained in 10 Easy Steps

Benedict’s Test- Principle, Composition,…
Widal Test- Introduction, Principle, Procedure,…
Different Size, Shape and Arrangement of Bacterial
Cells
Acid-Fast Stain- Principle, Procedure,…
Gram Staining: Principle, Procedure,
Interpretation,…
Nutrient Agar: Composition, Preparation and Uses
MacConkey Agar- Composition, Principle, Uses,…
Types of Crystals in Urine
Catalase Test- Principle, Uses, Procedure, Result…

Topics

Bacterial Identification
Bacteriology
Basic Microbiology
Biochemical Test
Biochemical Test of Bacteria
Biochemistry
Biology
Cell Biology
Culture Media
Differences Between
Diseases
Haematology
Immunology
Laboratory
Mycology
Parasitology
Staining Techniques
Virology

About Us - Contact Us - Privacy Policy & Disclaimer

© 2023 MicrobiologyInfo.com