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Bacterial morphological plasticity refers to changes in the shape and size that bacterial cells undergo when they encounter stressful environments. Although bacteria have evolved complex molecular strategies to maintain their shape, many are able to alter their shape as a survival strategy in response to protist predators, antibiotics, the immune response, and other threats.
The formation of patterns in the growth of bacterial colonies has extensively been studied experimentally. Resulting morphologies appear to depend on the growth conditions. They include well known morphologies such as dense branched morphology (DBM) or diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA), but much complex patterns and temporal behaviour can be fou
Eukaryotic flagella are ATP-driven, while prokaryotic flagella can be ATP-driven (archaea) or proton-driven (bacteria). [22] Different types of cell flagellation are found depending on the number and arrangement of the flagella on the cell surface, e.g., only at the cell poles or spread over the cell surface. [23]
Gliding has been observed in a wide variety of phyla, and though the mechanisms may vary between bacteria, it is currently understood that it takes place in environments with common characteristics, such as firmness and low-water, which enables the bacterium to still have motility in its surroundings.
Twitching motility is a form of crawling bacterial motility used to move over surfaces. Twitching is mediated by the activity of hair-like filaments called type IV pili which extend from the cell's exterior, bind to surrounding solid substrates, and retract, pulling the cell forwards in a manner similar to the action of a grappling hook.
L-form bacteria, also known as L-phase bacteria, L-phase variants or cell wall-deficient bacteria (CWDB), are growth forms derived from different bacteria. They lack cell walls . [ 1 ] Two types of L-forms are distinguished: unstable L-forms , spheroplasts that are capable of dividing, but can revert to the original morphology, and stable L ...
Bacteria often attach to surfaces and form dense aggregations called biofilms [51] and larger formations known as microbial mats. [52] These biofilms and mats can range from a few micrometres in thickness to up to half a metre in depth, and may contain multiple species of bacteria, protists and archaea.
Bacteria can survive under diverse environmental conditions and in order to overcome these adverse and changing conditions, bacteria must sense the changes and mount appropriate responses in gene expression and protein activity. The stress response in bacteria involves a complex network of elements that counteracts the external stimulus.