Molecular weight variation among bacterial flagellins

The molecular weights of flagellins from 29 bacterial strains from 11 genera were investigated using the technique of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate. The molecular weights range from 28,600 for Bacillus sphaericus to 63,200 for one strain of Escherichia coli. Variation in molecular weight was observed not only between genera but also between different species of a genus and different strains of a species.