Expression and characterization of flagella in nonmotile enteroinvasive Escherichia coli isolated from diarrhea cases

We report that enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC) serotypes considered to be nonmotile produce an unusually large (77 kDa) flagellin that is assembled into functional flagellum filaments that allow the bacteria to swim in modified motility agar. The EIEC flagellin showed N-terminal identity to most common enterobacterial flagellins, especially those of the E. coli H7 serotype. These data are important in terms of the epidemiology, evolution, and biology of EIEC.