Possession of Flagellar Hooks by Some Non-flagellate Mutants of Salmonella abortusequi

Abstract

SUMMARY: The possession of flagellar hooks by non-flagellate mutants derived from phase 1 stable strains of Salmonella abortusequi was determined by electron microscopic examination of material detached from these bacteria by mechanical means. Hooks were found in all the preparations from Hi mutants but none in those from fla mutants representative of fourteen different complementation groups. The hooks from Hi mutants were morphologically indistinguishable from those of wild-type. These results show that all the fla genes are involved in hook formation and that the flagellin structural gene Hi is not.