video: A bacterial "launch sequence" for detaching from a surface: bacteria attached to a surface can orient themselves perpendicular to the surface. Such "standing" cell orientations play important roles in their life cycles. One example is how bacteria detach from a surface. Here we see that the bacterium spins on the surface, tilts upwards to a near-vertical orientation, and then launches from the surface. This video relates to an article that appeared in the Oct. 8, 2010, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. Maxsim L. Gibiansky of the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues was titled, "Bacteria Use Type IV Pili to Walk Upright and Detach from Surfaces." view more
Credit: Video file courtesy of Gerard Wong, UCLA Bioengineering, CNSI