title: Defining motility in the Staphylococci.
abstract: The ability of bacteria to move is critical for their survival in diverse environments and multiple ways have evolved to achieve this. Two forms of motility have recently been described for Staphylococcus aureus, an organism previously considered to be non-motile. One form is called spreading, which is a type of sliding motility and the second form involves comet formation, which has many observable characteristics associated with gliding motility. Darting motility has also been observed in Staphylococcus epidermidis. This review describes how motility is defined and how we distinguish between passive and active motility. We discuss the characteristics of the various forms of Staphylococci motility, the molecular mechanisms involved and the potential future research directions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Science, Western Bank, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Eric J G
authors.initials: EJG
authors.lastname: Pollitt
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA. stephen.diggle@biosci.gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Stephen P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Diggle
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D053038:Quorum Sensing; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; C025971:staphylococcal delta toxin
keywords: Gliding; Motility; Quorum sensing; Staphylococcus aureus