Abstract
The lowest viscosity that immobilized flagellated bacteria such as Psedomonas aeruginosa, Spirillum serpens, and Escherichia coli was 60 centipoise (cp). Much higher viscosities (1,000 cp and higher) were required to immobilize two flagellated bacteria selectively isolated from nature by methods based on their ability to migrate through agar gels. The latter finding indicates that certain flagellated bacteria have the ability to swim through environments of relatively high viscosity. It is suggested that these flagellated bacteria possess a specialized type of motility apparatus suited to viscous conditions present in their habitats.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Canale-Parola E., Rosenthal S. L., Kupfer D. G. Morphological and physiological characteristics of Spirillum gracile sp. n. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 1966;32(2):113–124. doi: 10.1007/BF02097451. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Greenberg E. P., Canale-Parola E. Chemotaxis in Spirochaeta aurantia. J Bacteriol. 1977 Apr;130(1):485–494. doi: 10.1128/jb.130.1.485-494.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Greenberg E. P., Canale-Parola E. Relationship between cell coiling and motility of spirochetes in viscous environments. J Bacteriol. 1977 Sep;131(3):960–969. doi: 10.1128/jb.131.3.960-969.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Greenberg E. P., Canale-Parola E. Spirochaeta halophila sp. n., a facultative anaerobe from a high-salinity pond. Arch Microbiol. 1976 Nov 2;110(23):185–194. doi: 10.1007/BF00690227. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kaiser G. E., Doetsch R. N. Letter: Enhanced translational motion of Leptospira in viscous environments. Nature. 1975 Jun 19;255(5510):656–657. doi: 10.1038/255656a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Schneider W. R., Doetsch R. N. Effect of viscosity on bacterial motility. J Bacteriol. 1974 Feb;117(2):696–701. doi: 10.1128/jb.117.2.696-701.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]