Motility is the ability of anorganism to move independently usingmetabolic energy. This biological concept encompasses movement at various levels, from whole organisms to cells and subcellular components.
Motility is observed in animals, microorganisms, and even some plant structures, playing crucial roles in activities such as foraging, reproduction, and cellular functions. It is genetically determined but can be influenced by environmental factors.
In multicellular organisms, motility is facilitated by systems like thenervous andmusculoskeletal systems, while at the cellular level, it involves mechanisms such asamoeboid movement andflagellar propulsion. These cellular movements can be directed by external stimuli, a phenomenon known as taxis. Examples includechemotaxis (movement along chemical gradients) andphototaxis (movement in response to light).
Motility also includes physiological processes like gastrointestinal movements and peristalsis. Understanding motility is important in biology, medicine, and ecology, as it impacts processes ranging from bacterial behavior to ecosystem dynamics.
Motility, the ability of anorganism to move independently, using metabolic energy,[2][3] can be contrasted withsessility, the state of organisms that do not possess a means of self-locomotion and are normally immobile. Motility differs frommobility, the ability of an object to be moved.
The termvagility means a lifeform that can be moved but only passively; sessile organisms including plants and fungi often have vagile parts such as fruits, seeds, or spores which may be dispersed by other agents such as wind, water, or other organisms.[4]
Motility isgenetically determined,[5] but may be affected by environmental factors such astoxins. Thenervous system and musculoskeletal system provide the majority of mammalian motility.[6][7][8]
In addition toanimal locomotion, mostanimals are motile, though some are vagile, described as havingpassive locomotion. Manybacteria and othermicroorganisms, including even someviruses,[9] andmulticellular organisms are motile; some mechanisms offluid flow in multicellular organs and tissue are also considered instances of motility, as withgastrointestinal motility. Motilemarine animals are commonly called free-swimming,[10][11][12] and motile non-parasitic organisms are called free-living.[13]
Motility includes an organism's ability to move food through itsdigestive tract. There are two types of intestinal motility –peristalsis andsegmentation.[14] This motility is brought about by the contraction of smooth muscles in the gastrointestinal tract which mix the luminal contents with various secretions (segmentation) and move contents through the digestive tract from the mouth to the anus (peristalsis).[15]
At the cellular level, different modes of movement exist:
Many cells are not motile, for exampleKlebsiella pneumoniae andShigella, or under specific circumstances such asYersinia pestis at 37 °C.[citation needed]
Events perceived as movements can be directed:
![Muscles give the ability for voluntary movement, and involuntary movement as in muscle spasms and reflexes. At the level of the muscular system, motility is a synonym for locomotion.[20][21]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMuscular_system.svg)
Division of the cytoplasm, known as cytokinesis, follows telophase. During division, cell organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplastsbecome distributed evenly between the cells. In animal cells, division is byin-tucking of the plasma membrane at the equator of the spindle, 'pinching' the cytoplasm in half (Figure 3.15). In plant cells, the Golgi apparatus forms vesicles of new cell wall materials whichcollect along the line of the equator of the spindle, known as the cell plate. Here, thevesicles coalesce forming the new plasma membranes and cell walls between the two cells (Figure 3.17).
"capacity of movement," 1827, from French motilité (1827), from Latin mot-, stem of movere "to move" (see move (v.)).
During development,any change in cell shape is preceded by a change in gene activity. The cell's origin and environment that determine which transcription factors are active within a cell, and, hence, which genes are turned on, and which proteins are produced.
We encourage the continued development and refinement of devices for monitoring the activity and energetics of free-swimming fish
Acoustic telemetry was used to monitor ambient water temperature and tissue temperature in free-swimming bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus Linneaus [sic], 1758) over periods ranging from a few hours to several days.
Protozoa are microscopic, one-celled organisms that can be free-living or parasitic in nature.
For cells to function properly, they must organize themselves in space and interact mechanically with their environment... Eucaryotic cells have developed... the cytoskeleton... pulls the chromosomes apart at mitosis and then splits the dividing cell into two... drives and guides intracellular traffic of organelles... enables cells such as sperm to swim and others, such as fibroblasts and white blood cells, to crawl across surfaces. It exhibits wide range of movement
Skeletal muscle is the type of muscle you use to move, e.g. thebicep and triceps move the lower arm. Skeletal muscles are attached to bones by tendons. Ligaments attach bones to other bones, to hold them together.Skeletal muscles contract and relax to move bones at a joint.
The muscle mass is not just concerned with locomotion. It assists in the circulation of blood and protects and confines the visceral organs. It also provides the main shaping component of the human form.
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