Bacterial Motility
• 1. Flagellar Motility
• Mechanism: Bacteria move using flagella, long, whip-like appendages that rotate like
propellers.
• Example: Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Salmonella.
• Types:
• Monotrichous: Single flagellum (e.g., Vibrio cholerae).
• Lophotrichous: Cluster of flagella at one end.
• Amphitrichous: One or more flagella at both ends.
• Peritrichous: Flagella distributed over the entire surface (e.g., E. coli).
• 2. Swarming Motility
• Mechanism: Bacteria move in groups across a solid surface in a coordinated manner, often
producing a film or colony.
• Example: Proteus mirabilis.
• Environment: Occurs on moist surfaces and involves flagella.
• 3. Twitching Motility
• Mechanism: Bacteria use type IV pili, which extend and retract, pulling the
bacteria forward.
• Example: Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
• Environment: Occurs on solid surfaces.
• 4. Gliding Motility
• Mechanism: Bacteria move smoothly across surfaces without using flagella or
pili. The exact mechanism is still not fully understood but may involve the
secretion of slime or surface adhesion.
• Example: Myxococcus xanthus and Cytophaga.
• Environment: Occurs on solid surfaces like agar plates.
• 5. Spirochete Motility
• Mechanism: Spirochetes use axial filaments or endoflagella, which are
flagella in the periplasmic space. This unique structure allows them to move
in a corkscrew-like fashion.
• Example: Treponema pallidum (causative agent of syphilis) and Borrelia
burgdorferi (causative agent of Lyme disease).
• Environment: Useful for movement in viscous environments like mucus.
• 6. Sliding Motility
• Mechanism: This is a passive form of movement where bacteria spread
across surfaces using the growth and expansion of the colony.
• Example: Flavobacterium.
• Environment: Involves colony expansion without active propulsion.
Bacterial Flagella: structure, types and function
• Flagellum (singular) is hair like helical structure emerges from
cell wall and cell membrane
• It is responsible for motility of the bacteria
• Size: thin 15-20nm in diameter.
• Single flagella can be seen with light microscope only after
staining with special stain which increase the diameter of
flagella.
• Flagella is not straight but is helical.
• It is composed of flagellin protein (globular protein) and known
as H antigen.
• Flagella has three parts. Basal body, Hook and filament
Basal body:
• it is composed of central rod inserted into series of rings
which is attached to cytoplasmic memvbrane and cell
wall.
• L-ring: it is the outer ring present only in Gram -ve
bacteria, it anchored in lipopolysaccharide layer
• P-ring: it is second ring anchored in peptidoglycan
layer of cell wall.
• M-S ring: anchored in cytoplasmic membrane
• C ring: anchored in cytoplasm
• Hook:
• it is the wider region at the base of filament
• it connects filament to the motor protein in the base
• length of hook is longer in gram +ve bacteria than gram
–ve bacteria
Filament:
• it is thin hair like structure arises from hook.
Types of flagella
• On the basis of arrangement • 4. Peritrichous:
• presence of flagella all over the cell
• 1. Monotrichous: surface.
• presence of single flagella in one end of • example; [Link], Salmonella,
cell. Klebsiella
• examples; Vibrio cholera, Pseudomonas • 5. Atrichous:
aerogenosa • absent of flagella.
• 2. Lophotrichous: • example; Shigella
• 3. Amphitrichous:
• presence of bundle of flagella in one end
• presence of single or cluster of
of cell.
flagella at both end of cell.
• example: Pseudomanas fluroscence • example; Aquaspirillium
Flagellar motility:
• At the base surrounding the inner ring (M-S and C ring) there is a series
of protein called Mot protein.
• A final set of protein called Fli protein function as motor switch. The
flagella motor rotates the filament as a turbine causing movement of
the cell in the medium.
• The movement of flagella results from rotation of basal body which is
similar to the movement of the shaft of an electric motor.
• A turning motion is generated between S-ring and M ring. S-ring acts as
starter while M ring acts as roter.
• The basal body as a whole give a universal joint to the cell and allows
complete rotation of hook and filament.
• Flagella moves the cell by rotating the flagella about the basal body.
Rotation of flagella is either clockwise or anticlockwise.
