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Gliding in a Blue–Green Alga: a Possible Mechanism

Abstract

GLIDING motility has been studied for many years with limited success1–3. The gliding movements displayed by several species of blue–green algae and bacteria have not as yet been satisfactorily explained. Earlier observations of gross behaviour and morphology have suggested several mechanisms, but we believe that none of the previous explanations encompass all of the motility characteristics observed in the blue–green alga, Oscillatoria princeps Vaucher (Fig. 1).

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HALFEN, L., CASTENHOLZ, R. Gliding in a Blue–Green Alga: a Possible Mechanism. Nature 225, 1163–1165 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/2251163a0

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