Movies -Swimming E. coli -Swimming Rhodobacter -Swimming Synechococcus -Swarming Salmonella -Swarming Serratia -Twitching Pseudomonas -Gliding Cytophaga -Gliding Mycoplasma -Tethered bacteria -E. coli patterns -Miscellaneous movies -Download files

Swarming Serratia marcescens Introduction When grown on soft agar (0.7-0.8%) and a rich medium, cells of Serratia marcescens (and other Gram-negative bacteria) elongate, produce more flagella, and move over the surface of the agar in a coordinated manner. Serrawettin, a lipopeptide, appears to be important as a wetting agent. Swarming is more vigorous than in Salmonella, and cells at the very edge of the swarm are more active. The first video, made in phase contrast, shows spreading near the edge of a swarm. The second video shows that cells removed from a swarm swim vigorously. Movies Swarming Swimming Reference Harshey, R. M. "Bees aren't the only ones: swarming in Gram-negative bacteria." Mol. Microbiol. 13, 389-394 (1994). Outside credits We would like to thank Rasika Harshey for her help in creating these movies.

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Last modified Tuesday, July 23, 2003.