Movement of Bacteria
Bacilli and spirilla use hair-like extentions called flagella or cilia for movement.
How do spiral bacteria move?
Some spiral-shaped bacteria, known as the Spirochetes, utilize a corkscrew-motility due to their unusual morphology and flagellar conformation. These gram negative bacteria have specialized flagella that attach to one end of the cell, extend back through the periplasm and then attach to the other end of the cell.
How does bacillus bacteria move about?
Research on bacterial movement tends to focus on the rod-shaped bacteria. With the aid of small waving flagella, each bacterial cell can push itself in the direction it wishes to go. They can also move in groups, forming large swarms that ripple and slide their way across Petri dishes.
