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Updated: May 26, 2026

Preparation, Imaging, and Quantification of Bacterial Surface Motility Assays
Published on: April 7, 2015
Protocol for isolating single species of bacteria with swarming ability from human feces
Hao Li1, Lilli Hong1, Wendy Szymczak2
1Department of Medicine, Genetics and Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
Abstract:
Understanding the specific movements of bacteria isolated from human feces can serve as a novel diagnostic and therapeutic tool for inflammatory bowel disease. Here, we present a protocol for a microbial swarming assay and to isolate the bacteria responsible for swarming activity. We describe steps for identifying bacteria using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and whole-genome sequencing. We then detail procedures for validating findings by observing the same swarming phenotype upon reperforming the swarming assay. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to De et al.1.

