Motility and taxis Flashcards
Why is motility important for a bacteria?
To allow movement for:
- Escaping predators
- Moving to food source
- To move to new niches
Where is the flagella located?
It can be located anywhere
How does the flagella generate movement
Via a mini motor which is span by the proton gradient
What is the first part of the flagella that’s created during replication?
The stator complex
What are the five different types of motility?
- Swimming
- Swarming
- Twitching
- Gliding
- Sliding
What is swimming motility?
Movement of bacteria in a medium
What is swarming motility?
Movement of bacteria over moist surfaces
What is a key feature of twitching motility?
Cells will congregete together as mini rafts moving towards the same goal
What does a cell require in order to twitch?
Type IV pilli
Give an example of an organism which uses twitching
M.xanthus
What is sliding motility?
Passive spreading of bacteria over a solid surface
Give some examples of different taxis systems
- Chemotaxis
- Aerotaxis
- Osmotaxis
