Formation and function of Vibrio parahaemolyticus lateral flagella

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Abstract
Formation of the lateral flagella (L-flagella) of V. parahaemolyticus was studied immunologically [flagellin assay] using specific antiserum against L-flagella. On solid medium, L-flagella were formed at high (37.degree. C) and low (25.degree. C) temperatures, although at high temperatures they became dissociated from the cells and decomposed in the medium. L-flagella were not formed in liquid or soft-agar medium. Formation of L-flagella was decreased by lowering the pH of the medium and repressed by transferring the cells from solid medium to liquid medium. Mutants possessing L-flagella but not a polar monotrichous flagellum (M-flagellum) swarmed on solid medium, but mutants possessing an M-flagellum but not L-flagella did not. When the former mutants were grown on solid medium and then transferred to liquid medium, the cells oscillated until they lost L-flagella. L-flagella are probably locomotive organelles on solid medium and in some cases also in liquid medium, but M-flagella are locomotive organelles only in liquid medium.