identifier: METPO:1005032
label: polar flagellation
definition: A motility phenotype in which one or more flagella are located at one
  or both poles of the cell.
trait_category: MORPHOLOGY
term_kind: CLASS
mapping_status: SEEDED
parent_traits:
- traitmech:000056
synonyms:
- synonym_text: flagellum arrangement
  synonym_type: RELATED_SYNONYM
  source: metpo.owl
curation_history:
- timestamp: '2026-09-11T07:49:46Z'
  curator: seed_from_metpo
  action: SEEDED_FROM_METPO
  changes: imported from data/raw/metpo.owl (CLASS)
- timestamp: '2026-09-11T08:00:00Z'
  curator: codex
  action: ENRICHED_FROM_LITERATURE
  changes: Enriched the seeded METPO polar flagellation phenotype with DOI-backed
    flagellar-arrangement evidence after a repository-wide duplicate review covering
    ignored and hidden files.
  llm_assisted: true
definition_source: DOI:10.1093/femsre/fuv034
evidence:
- reference: DOI:10.1093/femsre/fuv034
  snippet: Bacteria differ in number and location of their flagella that appear in
    regular patterns at the cell surface (flagellation pattern).
  notes: Schuhmacher et al. support treating the number and cellular position of flagella
    as a flagellation-pattern morphology class.
- reference: DOI:10.3390/biom10040533
  snippet: Some bacterial species, such as the marine bacterium Vibrio alginolyticus,
    have a single polar flagellum that allows it to swim in liquid environments.
  notes: Kojima et al. give Vibrio alginolyticus as a direct bacterial example whose
    flagellum is positioned at a cell pole.
- reference: DOI:10.3390/biom10040533
  snippet: Two regulators, FlhF and FlhG, function antagonistically to generate only
    one flagellum at the cell pole.
  notes: Kojima et al. connect FlhF/FlhG regulation to generation of a polar flagellum,
    supporting polar placement as a microbial flagellation phenotype.
canonical_examples:
- taxon_id: NCBITaxon:663
  taxon_label: Vibrio alginolyticus
  note: Kojima et al. describe V. alginolyticus as a marine bacterium with a single
    polar flagellum.
  reference: DOI:10.3390/biom10040533