Bacterial flagella are firmly anchored.
There are mutants of Salmonella enterica (with mutations in fliF and fliL) that shed flagella when they are swimming in a viscous medium or on the surface of soft agar. Filaments with hooks and the distal rod segment FlgG are recovered. We tried to extract flagellar filaments from such cells by pulling on them with an optical trap but failed, even when we used forces large enough to straighten the filaments. Thus, flagella are firmly anchored.
Darnton
Nicholas C
NC
Rowland Institute at Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
Berg
Howard C
HC
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005407:Flagella / Q000502:physiology*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008863:Microspheres; D052898:Optical Tweezers; D019779:Salmonella enterica / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013718:Tensile Strength
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C074426:FliL protein, Bacteria