How exactly does bacteria move?

Question

This is a totally random question. It's not for school or anything, I just want to know lol

There's bacteria everywhere. On your hands, skin, hair, gut, etc. There's also bacteria on surfaces like counter tops, phones and door k***s.

Spicificly the bacteria that hangs out on counter tops and tables, how do those bacteria move? How do they actually move around on a microscopic level?

Answer 1

Some bacteria cells have flagella or tiny whip-like structures.  A bacteria may have one flagellum or many flagella.  A bacteria will use its flagella to move in its environment.  Bacteria that do not have flagella cannot move on their own.  They rely on air or water currents, clothing, or other objects to carry them from place to place.

Some stick out thin, rigid spikes called fimbriae to help hold them to surfaces. Some contain little particles of minerals that orient with the planet’s magnetic fields to help the bacteria figure out whether they’re swimming up or down.

Other bacteria secrete a slime layer and ooze over surfaces like slugs. Others are fairly stationary.

http://www.microbeworld.org/microbes/bac...

Answer 2

Some bacteria are motile, that means they can move on their own.  There are a few ways.  

The first is via flagella, or flagellum (singular).  This is like a tail that spins around propelling the organism around.  Bacteria that have flagella are called flagellates.  Further breakdown of these bacteria are into the groups monotrichous meaning "one hair" (one flagellum), lophotrichous meaning "many hairs" (several flagella), and amphitrichous meaning "both hairs" (with flagella at both ends of the cell.)  A bacterial cell can also be peritrichous, meaning that it has flagella around the entire surface of the cell.

The second mode of bacterial transportation is via axial filaments.  These are like flagella except they are confined to inside the cell wall of the bacteria and aid in a twisting motion of the bacterial cell.  Axial filaments are only found on spirochete bacteria (bacteria that have a corkscrew shape).