Bacterial Flagella as Tiny Rotary Motors

Bacterial flagella are thread-like structures that help cells move and respond to their surroundings. They extend from the cell envelope and support both motility and chemotaxis, which is the ability to move in response to chemical signals. Their design shows how bacteria use specialized structures to survive in different en...

Flagella are thin, thread-like appendages extending from the plasma membrane and cell wall that help bacteria in motility.

The flagellum has three main parts — the filament, the hook, and the basal body.

The filament, the visible part of the flagellum, is composed of flagellin protein subunits arranged in helical chains.

It is ...