NOTES ON THE FLAGELLATION OF THE NODULE 

 BACTERIA OF LEGUMINOSAE 



IVAN V. SHUNK 

 Department of Botany, North Carolina State College 



Received for publication August 29, 1920 



For many years it has been known that the nodule bacteria 

 of Leguminosae are motile. Some early reports give the number 

 of flagella as one, other reports describe several. From time 

 to time some addition has been made to our knowledge of the 

 flagellation of these organisms'. Since the information on this 

 point has been rather fragmentary and somewhat uncertain, 

 the writer began the study of the flagellation of the nodule 

 bacteria from a considerable number of host plants in the spring 

 of 1920. 



Different workers, using bacteria from different host plants, 

 have found in some cases a single fiagellum and in other cases 

 several peritrichic flagella, and in a number of instances it has 

 been assumed because the ones under observation were of a 

 certain type, that therefore all nodule bacteria were similar to 

 the ones studied. This point together with the general paucity 

 of information on the flagellation of legume bacteria is well 

 brought out by the following brief historical review of all avail- 

 able published reports. 



Smith (1900) reported a single terminal flagellum about two 

 ju long bearing at the end a tuft like the lash of a whip. He does 

 not state the source of his organism. 



DeRossi (1907) found a single flageUum on organisms from 

 Vicia faha. He later (1920) reported the organism to be a true 

 Bacillus with several flagella, but it is not clear from his account 

 what host plants furnished the bacteria except that Trifolium 

 repens was one of those used. 



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