Abstract
Some detergents were studied for effect on the flagellation of bacteria. When bacteria were grown on agar medium containing anionic detergents, such as sodium dodecyl sulfate, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, and Teepol, lateral or peritrichous flagella could not be found, but a polar monotrichous flagellum was apparent. Nonionic detergents, such as Triton X-100 and Tween 80, and a cationic detergent, benzalkonium chloride, did not affect the flagellation so long as they were at a concentration which allowed normal growth of bacteria.
The absence of lateral flagella of Vibrio parahaemolyticus grown on solid agar medium containing detergents was not due to the solubilization of flagella by detergents after the flagellar formation, but to the inhibition of flagellar protein synthesis per se.
V. parahaemolyticus possessed lateral and polar monotrichous flagella and was motile in liquid or soft agar medium containing anionic detergents. It could not swarm solid agar medium containing anionic detergents, since it lost its lateral flagella due to the presence of detergents.
