MOTILITY - Definition and types

 

WHAT IS MOTILITY?

          Active, progressive, purposeful movement of bacteria from one point to another in a particular direction with the help of flagella is defined as motility.

 

WHAT IS BROWNIAN MOVEMENT?

          Random, oscillatory movement about a fixed point which is possessed by all small bodies suspended in a fluid due to bombardment of water molecules. Also known as on-spot vibratory movement.

 

WHAT IS PASSIVE DRIFTING?

          Movement of organism in the same direction of the convectional current in a fluid.

 

WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF MOTILITY?

         

TYPES OF MOTILITY	EXAMPLES
Darting motility	V.cholerae, Campylobacter
Tumbling motility	Listeria monocytogenes
Falling leaf motility	Giardia lamblia
Corkscrew motility	Spirochetes
Stately motility	Clostridia, Bacillus sp.
Swarming motility	Clostridium tetani, Proteus sp.
Gliding motility	Mycoplasma
Football motility	Balantidium coli
Differential motility	Yersinia enterocolitica (Motile at 22ºC & non motile at 37°C) L.monocytogenes (Motile at 25ºC & non motile at 37°C)