Bacteria have developed a large array of motility mechanisms to exploit available resources
and environments. These mechanisms can be broadly classified into swimming in aqueous …

Fine-tuning cellular physiology in response to intracellular and environmental cues requires
precise temporal and spatial control of gene expression. High-resolution imaging …

The ability of bacterial cells to adhere to and interact with surfaces to eventually form a
biofilm is a crucial trait for the survival of any microorganism in a complex environment. As a …

Many bacteria use the flagellum for locomotion and chemotaxis. Its bidirectional rotation is
driven by a membrane-embedded motor, which uses energy from the transmembrane ion …

The bacterial type IV pilus (T4P) is a versatile molecular machine with a broad range of
functions. Recent advances revealed that the molecular components and the biophysical …

Myxococcus xanthus, a soil bacterium, predates collectively using motility to invade prey
colonies. Prey lysis is mostly thought to rely on secreted factors, cocktails of antibiotics and …

Cell motility universally relies on spatial regulation of focal adhesion complexes (FAs)
connecting the substrate to cellular motors. In bacterial FAs, the Adventurous gliding motility …

Gliding motility proceeds with little changes in cell shape and often results from actively
driven surface flows of adhesins binding to the extracellular environment. It allows for fast …

Eukaryogenesis, the origin of the eukaryotic cell, represents one of the fundamental
evolutionary transitions in the history of life on earth. This event, which is estimated to have …

Type IVa pili are ubiquitous and versatile bacterial cell surface filaments that undergo cycles
of extension, adhesion and retraction powered by the cell-envelope spanning type IVa pilus …