Flagella number among Naegleria flagellates

Scanning electron microscopy was used to determine the number of flagella on the flagellates of Naegleria australiensis, N. fowleri, N. gruberi, and N. jadini. Although the majority of flagellates had 2 flagella, there was considerable variation among individual cells. The number of flagella per flagellate varied from 1-8, with 2.4 being the average number per cell. For the different species, the average number of flagella per cell ranged from 2.0 in N. jadini to 3.1 for N. australiensis. The greatest amount of variation occurred in N. australiensis, with only 43% of the cells having 2 flagella. By contrast, 92% of N. fowleri cells had 2 flagella. Naegleria jadini and N. gruberi were intermediate with 80% and 74% biflagellates, respectively.