Purification and characterization of flagella from Roseburia cecicola, an obligately anaerobic bacterium

Flagella from Roseburia cecicola, an obligately anaerobic bacterium originally isolated from murine caecal mucosa, were purified by mechanical shearing followed by differential centrifugation. Purity of the flagellar preparation was determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, electron microscopy and chemical analysis. The flagella were composed of a single protein subunit (flagellin) with an estimated molecular weight of 42 000. The amino acid composition of the flagellin was similar to that of some facultatively anaerobic and aerobic bacteria.