Bacterial gliding

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Bacterial gliding is a process whereby a bacterium can move under its own power. This process does not involve the use of flagella, which is a more common means of motility in bacteria. For many bacteria, the mechanism of gliding is unknown or only partially known, and it seems likely that in fact different bacteria use distinct mechanisms to achieve what is currently referred to as gliding. Gliding is prominent in cyanobacteria, myxobacteria and the cytophaga-flavobacteria.

The force for propulsion in myxobacteria gliding has been found to come from the ejection of a polysaccharide slime from nozzles at either end of the body. [1]

References

• A review article on this phenomenon. Mark. J. McBride (2001) "BACTERIAL GLIDING MOTILITY: Multiple Mechanisms for Cell Movement over Surfaces", Annual Review of Microbiology, 55: 49-75. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11544349&dopt=Abstract