Motility measurement techniques

Irrespective of the type of classification system used, practical classification and identification on a day to day basis must, of necessity, be based on characteristics which are easy and simple to observe and measure. One obvious example is motility, which depends on flagella. Motility/non-motility is a useful differential character, which is easy to observe using simple techniques and is therefore widely used in classification. However, the number and position of the flagella, which may be polar or peritrichous (all round the cell), is also a differential character. To observe these reliably requires an electron microscope, which is not... 

A variety of techniques for measuring bacterial motility and chemotaxis have been developed. The main ones are listed in Table 5 and described in brief. 

Table 5. Techniques used to measure motility and chemotaxis. ... 

Motility Specific, can identify area of the gastrointestinal tract where an abnormality occurs Invasive, limited to centers, time intensive in infants who cannot cooperate, but can measure some aspects by noninvasive techniques (e.g., hydrogen hreath tests)... 

A common technique to study the enteric nerves is by measuring changes in motility caused by electrical field stimulation (EES). In this procedure, both sensory and motor nerves are activated in whole segments or motor nerve function in segments without mucosa and submucosa. EES cause cholinergic-mediated contraction and nitrergically mediated relaxation. Dmgs are used to study the effect and mechanism of inhibition or the potentiation of electrically evoked smooth muscle... 

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