Isolation and characterization of flagellar preparations from Pseudomonas species.

Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis has been used previously to characterize the flagellin of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. flFlagella from several other clinically important species of pseudomonads have been characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and their molecular weights have been found to vary among species as follows: P. maltophilia B69 Fla, 33,000; P. stutzeri HEW, 55,000; P. aeruginosa M-2, 53,000. The flagella of P. cepacia strains were divided into two groups based on molecular weight. Type I had a molecular weight of 31,000. The molecular weight of type II was in the range of 44,000 to 46,000. Serologically, type I is a homologous group, whereas type II is a heterologous group. The two flagellin types of P. cepacia appear to be analogous to the two major flagellin types of P. aeruginosa. Characterization of P. cepacia strains by flagellin types may serve as a molecular epidemiological tool.