Many bacteria are motile and use flagella to swim through liquid environments. The basal body of a bacterial flagellum functions as a rotary molecular motor, enabling the flagellum to rotate and prope...Many bacteria are motile and use flagella to swim through liquid environments. The basal body of a bacterial flagellum functions as a rotary molecular motor, enabling the flagellum to rotate and propel the bacterium through the surrounding fluid. Bacterial flagella appear in several arrangements, each unique to a particular organism. Motility serves to keep bacteria in an optimum environment via taxis. Taxis refers to a motile response to an environmental stimulus.
