Sabotaging flagella of bacteria to halt infections
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Microbiology

Sabotaging flagella of bacteria to halt infections

Some bacteria have the ability to ‘swim’ in a controlled fashion through the use of appendages called flagella. Researchers think that disabling these flagella is a key step towards infection control.

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Sabotaging flagella of bacteria to halt infections.
Sabotaging flagella of bacteria to halt infections. Digital media by Tim Sandle.

Some bacteria have the ability to ‘swim’ in a controlled fashion through the use of appendages called flagella. Researchers think that disabling these flagella is a key step towards infection control.

Motile bacteria move through the function of flagella. These appendages rotate, which propels an organism forwards. This is a little like the propellers on a boat. Some bacteria have one flagellum, others have many, and some possess none at all. Some of the bacteria regarded as human pathogens have flagella. An example of a flagellate bacterium is the ulcer-causing Helicobacter pylori, which uses multiple flagella to propel itself through the mucus lining to reach the stomach epithelium. Some flagella also serve a function in environmental detection, sensing different conditions and signalling to a bacterium to move to or away from a given niche.

Read more: Sabotaging bacteria to halt infections

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BS Media. “Sabotaging flagella of bacteria to halt infections.” BioScience. BioScience ISSN 2521-5760, 28 September 2016. <https://www.bioscience.com.pk/en/topics/microbiology/sabotaging-flagella-of-bacteria-to-halt-infections>. BS Media. (2016, September 28). “Sabotaging flagella of bacteria to halt infections.” BioScience. ISSN 2521-5760. Retrieved January 06, 2023 from https://www.bioscience.com.pk/en/topics/microbiology/sabotaging-flagella-of-bacteria-to-halt-infections BS Media. “Sabotaging flagella of bacteria to halt infections.” BioScience. ISSN 2521-5760. https://www.bioscience.com.pk/en/topics/microbiology/sabotaging-flagella-of-bacteria-to-halt-infections (accessed January 06, 2023).
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