noun
- A protein that is the main structural component of bacterial flagella, the whip-like appendages that enable bacterial movement.
Usage: technical; biology
Examples
- Flagellin is essential for the motility of many bacterial species.
- The immune system can recognize flagellin as a pathogen-associated molecular pattern.
- Researchers studied how flagellin monomers assemble to form the flagellar filament.
- Salmonella bacteria use flagellin to propel themselves through the intestinal tract.
- The structure of flagellin has been extensively analyzed using electron microscopy.