Motility

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Cell division. All cells can be considered motile for having the ability to divide into two new daughter cells. Binucleated cell overlay.tiff
Cell division. All cells can be considered motile for having the ability to divide into two new daughter cells.

Motility is the ability of an organism to move independently using metabolic energy. This biological concept encompasses movement at various levels, from whole organisms to cells and subcellular components.

Contents

Motility is observed in animals, microorganisms, and even some plant structures, playing crucial roles in activities such as foraging, reproduction, and cellular functions. It is genetically determined but can be influenced by environmental factors.

In multicellular organisms, motility is facilitated by systems like the nervous and musculoskeletal systems, while at the cellular level, it involves mechanisms such as amoeboid movement and flagellar propulsion. These cellular movements can be directed by external stimuli, a phenomenon known as taxis. Examples include chemotaxis (movement along chemical gradients) and phototaxis (movement in response to light).

Motility also includes physiological processes like gastrointestinal movements and peristalsis. Understanding motility is important in biology, medicine, and ecology, as it impacts processes ranging from bacterial behavior to ecosystem dynamics.

Definitions

Motility, the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy, [2] [3] can be contrasted with sessility, the state of organisms that do not possess a means of self-locomotion and are normally immobile. Motility differs from mobility, the ability of an object to be moved.

The term vagility means a lifeform that can be moved but only passively; sessile organisms including plants and fungi often have vagile parts such as fruits, seeds, or spores which may be dispersed by other agents such as wind, water, or other organisms. [4]

Motility is genetically determined, [5] but may be affected by environmental factors such as toxins. The nervous system and musculoskeletal system provide the majority of mammalian motility. [6] [7] [8]

In addition to animal locomotion, most animals are motile, though some are vagile, described as having passive locomotion. Many bacteria and other microorganisms, including even some viruses, [9] and multicellular organisms are motile; some mechanisms of fluid flow in multicellular organs and tissue are also considered instances of motility, as with gastrointestinal motility. Motile marine animals are commonly called free-swimming, [10] [11] [12] and motile non-parasitic organisms are called free-living. [13]

Motility includes an organism's ability to move food through its digestive tract. There are two types of intestinal motility – peristalsis and segmentation. [14] This motility is brought about by the contraction of smooth muscles in the gastrointestinal tract which mix the luminal contents with various secretions (segmentation) and move contents through the digestive tract from the mouth to the anus (peristalsis). [15]

Cellular level

Eukaryotic cytoskeletons induce cells to move through liquid and over surfaces, divide into new cells, and the cytoskeleton guides the transport of organelles within the cell. This video captures stained cytoskeletons from the cross section of a leaf of Arabidopsis thaliana . [16]

At the cellular level, different modes of movement exist:

Many cells are not motile, for example Klebsiella pneumoniae and Shigella , or under specific circumstances such as Yersinia pestis at 37 °C.[ citation needed ]

Movements

Events perceived as movements can be directed:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cell (biology)</span> Basic unit of many life forms

The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all forms of life. Every cell consists of cytoplasm enclosed within a membrane; many cells contain organelles, each with a specific function. The term comes from the Latin word cellula meaning 'small room'. Most cells are only visible under a microscope. Cells emerged on Earth about 4 billion years ago. All cells are capable of replication, protein synthesis, and motility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chemotaxis</span> Movement of an organism or entity in response to a chemical stimulus

Chemotaxis is the movement of an organism or entity in response to a chemical stimulus. Somatic cells, bacteria, and other single-cell or multicellular organisms direct their movements according to certain chemicals in their environment. This is important for bacteria to find food by swimming toward the highest concentration of food molecules, or to flee from poisons. In multicellular organisms, chemotaxis is critical to early development and development as well as in normal function and health. In addition, it has been recognized that mechanisms that allow chemotaxis in animals can be subverted during cancer metastasis, and the aberrant change of the overall property of these networks, which control chemotaxis, can lead to carcinogenesis. The aberrant chemotaxis of leukocytes and lymphocytes also contribute to inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis, asthma, and arthritis. Sub-cellular components, such as the polarity patch generated by mating yeast, may also display chemotactic behavior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flagellum</span> Cellular appendage functioning as locomotive or sensory organelle

A flagellum is a hairlike appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, from fungal spores (zoospores), and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many protists with flagella are known as flagellates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cilium</span> Organelle found on eukaryotic cells

The cilium is a membrane-bound organelle found on most types of eukaryotic cell. The cilium has the shape of a slender threadlike projection that extends from the surface of the much larger cell body. Eukaryotic flagella found on sperm cells and many protozoans have a similar structure to motile cilia that enables swimming through liquids; they are longer than cilia and have a different undulating motion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peristalsis</span> Radially symmetrical contraction and relaxation of muscles

Peristalsis is a type of intestinal motility, characterized by radially symmetrical contraction and relaxation of muscles that propagate in a wave down a tube, in an anterograde direction. Peristalsis is progression of coordinated contraction of involuntary circular muscles, which is preceded by a simultaneous contraction of the longitudinal muscle and relaxation of the circular muscle in the lining of the gut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enteric nervous system</span> Vital system controlling the gastrointestinal tract

The enteric nervous system (ENS) or intrinsic nervous system is one of the three main divisions of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), the other being the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS), and consists of a mesh-like system of neurons that governs the function of the gastrointestinal tract. It is capable of acting independently of the SNS and PSNS, although it may be influenced by them. The ENS is nicknamed the "second brain". It is derived from neural crest cells.

A taxis is the movement of an organism in response to a stimulus such as light or the presence of food. Taxes are innate behavioural responses. A taxis differs from a tropism in that in the case of taxis, the organism has motility and demonstrates guided movement towards or away from the stimulus source. It is sometimes distinguished from a kinesis, a non-directional change in activity in response to a stimulus.

Cell migration is a central process in the development and maintenance of multicellular organisms. Tissue formation during embryonic development, wound healing and immune responses all require the orchestrated movement of cells in particular directions to specific locations. Cells often migrate in response to specific external signals, including chemical signals and mechanical signals. Errors during this process have serious consequences, including intellectual disability, vascular disease, tumor formation and metastasis. An understanding of the mechanism by which cells migrate may lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies for controlling, for example, invasive tumour cells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major sperm protein</span>

Major sperm protein (MSP) is a nematode specific small protein of 126 amino acids with a molecular weight of 14 kDa. It is the key player in the motility machinery of nematodes that propels the crawling movement/motility of nematode sperm. It is the most abundant protein present in nematode sperm, comprising 15% of the total protein and more than 40% of the soluble protein. MSP is exclusively synthesized in spermatocytes of the nematodes. The MSP has two main functions in the reproduction of the helminthes: i) as cytosolic component it is responsible for the crawling movement of the mature sperm, and ii) once released, it acts as hormone on the female germ cells, where it triggers oocyte maturation and stimulates the oviduct wall to contract to bring the oocytes into position for fertilization. MSP has first been identified in Caenorhabditis elegans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bacterial motility</span> Ability of bacteria to move independently using metabolic energy

Bacterial motility is the ability of bacteria to move independently using metabolic energy. Most motility mechanisms that evolved among bacteria also evolved in parallel among the archaea. Most rod-shaped bacteria can move using their own power, which allows colonization of new environments and discovery of new resources for survival. Bacterial movement depends not only on the characteristics of the medium, but also on the use of different appendages to propel. Swarming and swimming movements are both powered by rotating flagella. Whereas swarming is a multicellular 2D movement over a surface and requires the presence of surfactants, swimming is movement of individual cells in liquid environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotating locomotion in living systems</span> Rotational self-propulsion of organisms

Several organisms are capable of rolling locomotion. However, true wheels and propellers—despite their utility in human vehicles—do not play a significant role in the movement of living things. Biologists have offered several explanations for the apparent absence of biological wheels, and wheeled creatures have appeared often in speculative fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phototaxis</span> Directed movement of a motile cell or organism in response to light

Phototaxis is a kind of taxis, or locomotory movement, that occurs when a whole organism moves towards or away from a stimulus of light. This is advantageous for phototrophic organisms as they can orient themselves most efficiently to receive light for photosynthesis. Phototaxis is called positive if the movement is in the direction of increasing light intensity and negative if the direction is opposite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquatic locomotion</span>

Aquatic locomotion or swimming is biologically propelled motion through a liquid medium. The simplest propulsive systems are composed of cilia and flagella. Swimming has evolved a number of times in a range of organisms including arthropods, fish, molluscs, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amoeboid movement</span> Mode of locomotion in eukaryotic cells

Amoeboid movement is the most typical mode of locomotion in adherent eukaryotic cells. It is a crawling-like type of movement accomplished by protrusion of cytoplasm of the cell involving the formation of pseudopodia ("false-feet") and posterior uropods. One or more pseudopodia may be produced at a time depending on the organism, but all amoeboid movement is characterized by the movement of organisms with an amorphous form that possess no set motility structures.

This glossary of biology terms is a list of definitions of fundamental terms and concepts used in biology, the study of life and of living organisms. It is intended as introductory material for novices; for more specific and technical definitions from sub-disciplines and related fields, see Glossary of cell biology, Glossary of genetics, Glossary of evolutionary biology, Glossary of ecology, Glossary of environmental science and Glossary of scientific naming, or any of the organism-specific glossaries in Category:Glossaries of biology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amoeba</span> Cellular body type

An amoeba, often called an amoeboid, is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudopods. Amoebae do not form a single taxonomic group; instead, they are found in every major lineage of eukaryotic organisms. Amoeboid cells occur not only among the protozoa, but also in fungi, algae, and animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Precambrian body plans</span> Structure and development of early multicellular organisms

Until the late 1950s, the Precambrian was not believed to have hosted multicellular organisms. However, with radiometric dating techniques, it has been found that fossils initially found in the Ediacara Hills in Southern Australia date back to the late Precambrian. These fossils are body impressions of organisms shaped like disks, fronds and some with ribbon patterns that were most likely tentacles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social motility</span>

Social motility describes the motile movement of groups of cells that communicate with each other to coordinate movement based on external stimuli. There are multiple varieties of each kingdom that express social motility that provides a unique evolutionary advantages that other species do not possess. This has made them lethal killers such as African trypanosomiasis, or Myxobacteria. These evolutionary advantages have proven to increase survival rate among socially motile bacteria whether it be the ability to evade predators or communication within a swarm to form spores for long term hibernation in times of low nutrients or toxic environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protist locomotion</span> Motion system of a type of eukaryotic organism

Protists are the eukaryotes that cannot be classified as plants, fungi or animals. They are mostly unicellular and microscopic. Many unicellular protists, particularly protozoans, are motile and can generate movement using flagella, cilia or pseudopods. Cells which use flagella for movement are usually referred to as flagellates, cells which use cilia are usually referred to as ciliates, and cells which use pseudopods are usually referred to as amoeba or amoeboids. Other protists are not motile, and consequently have no built-in movement mechanism.

<i>Syssomonas</i> Genus of protists

Syssomonas is a monotypic genus of unicellular flagellated protists containing the species Syssomonas multiformis. It is a member of Pluriformea inside the lineage of Holozoa, a clade containing animals and their closest protistan relatives. It lives in freshwater habitats. It has a complex life cycle that includes unicellular amoeboid and flagellated phases, as well as multicellular aggregates, depending on the growth medium and nutritional state.

References

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  14. -overview Intestinal Motility Disorders at eMedicine
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