Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2025

Generation of Null Mutants to Elucidate the Role of Bacterial Glycosyltransferases in Bacterial Motility
Published on: March 11, 2022
Isolation and Visualization of Gliding Motility Machinery in Bacteroidota
Satoshi Shibata1, Daisuke Nakane2
1Division of Bacteriology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan. sshibata@tottori-u.ac.jp.
Abstract:
Many members of the phylum Bacteroidota (formerly called Bacteroidetes) adhere to and move on solid surfaces. This type of bacterial motility is called gliding and does not involve the conventional bacterial motility machinery, such as flagella and pili. To understand the mechanism of gliding motility of some Bacteroidota bacteria such as a soil bacterium Flavobacterium johnsoniae and a marine bacterium Saprospira grandis, the gliding motility machines of these two bacteria have been analyzed by electron microscopy with negative staining. Here, we describe methods to directly observe the gliding motility machinery in Bacteroidota by transmission electron microscopy.
Related Concept Videos
Flagella and Motility in Bacteria
Bacterial Phylum Bacteroidota
Intracellular Movement of Viruses and Bacteria
Special Staining Techniques
Cytoskeletal Proteins in Bacteria
Bacterial Phylum Tenericutes

