Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 29, 2026

Growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Biofilms
Published on: February 15, 2012
[Sliding motility and biofilm formation in mycobacteria]
J Recht1, A Martínez, S Torello
1Dept. of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115-5701, USA.
Abstract:
Using as a model Mycobacterium smegmatis, a non-motile microorganism, we have studied for the first time in mycobacteria the phenomenon known as sliding motility, as well as the process of biofilm formation. A screen of random transposon mutants was performed in order to identify the genes required for mycobacterial sliding over the surface of motility plates. The genetic analysis described here has been published recently. The genes required for sliding and for biofilm formation (mps and tmtpC) are involved in the biosynthesis of the glycopeptidolipids (GPLs) and their transport to the mycobacterial capsule. Based on our results, we suggest a model for the role of the GPLs in both phenomena.
Related Concept Videos
Cytoskeletal Proteins in Bacteria
Intracellular Movement of Viruses and Bacteria
Fimbriae, Pili, and Axial Filaments
Biofilms
Bacterial Phylum Actinobacteria
Colonisation of Pathogens

