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American Zoologist 1996 36(6):608-618; doi:10.1093/icb/36.6.608
© 1996 by The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
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A New Look at Locomotion in Microorganisms: Rotating and Translating1

HUGH C. CRENSHAW
Department of Zoology Box 90325, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708-0325

The locomotion and orientation of free-swimming microorganisms have been widely studied for more than a century. With few exceptions, only the two-dimensional translational velocity of the organism in question is ever reported, yet a complete description of motion requires a three-dimensional description of both the translational and rotational velocities. Recent theoretical work, considering both the translational and rotational velocities, has demonstrated that a previously unrecognized orientation mechanism exists—helical klinotaxis. Efforts to test the predictions of this theory are described, concluding that helical klinotaxis is probably utilized by a diverse assemblage of free-swimming microorganisms.


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