Surface Motility of Serratia liquefaciens MG1

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Abstract
The view of bacteria as unicellular organisms has strong roots in the traditional way of culturing bacteria in liquid medium. Although studies of bacterial activities during conditions of balanced growth have lead to insight into basic life processes and have unraveled complex regulatory networks, it must be emphasized that in nature microbial activity is often associated with surfaces (16). In fact, it appears that the ability to form surface-associated structured and cooperative consortia (referred to as biofilms) is one of the most remarkable characteristics of bacteria. Moreover, the observation that bacteria undergo cell differentiation when they grow in colonies and the discovery of sophisticated intercellular communication systems have shown that bacteria are much more interactive than previously realized (81). Communication capabilities are considered to be essential prerequisites for coordinated bacterial activities. The communication language is in most cases chemical in nature. Signal molecules that are released by specialized cells are thought to modulate the activity of other cells in the vicinity, thus regulating collective activities (involving many different genes connected by joint control factors). This minireview focuses on one example of coordinated bacterial activity, namely, the migration of populations by means of swarming motility in the strainS. liquefaciens MG1.