Helical fine structure of flagella of a motile diphtheroid.

Studies on the nature of the bacterial flagella have received considerable impetus from the hypothesis advanced by Pijper (1947) that flagella are not the locomotor organs of bacteria, but are merely "mucous twirls" trailing from the cell surface. A considerable body of criticism has arisen (Houwink and van Iterson, 1950) challenging Pijper's viewpoint. As a result, numerous contributions concerning flagellar chemistry, physics, and morphology have been presented (Weibull, 1950) which, although not entirely sufficient to resolve the basic controversy, have advanced our knowledge concerning flagella. The observations reported here are presented with no intention of deciding between the two views, but only as a noncommittal contribution to the subject of flagellar fine structure.