Filamentous Growth
Filamentous Growth - Related Videos
08:58
Filamentous Fungi
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2023
Source: Laboratories of Dr. Ian Pepper and Dr. Charles Gerba - The University of Arizona Demonstrating Author: Bradley Schmitz Fungi are heterotrophic eukaryotic organisms, and with the exception of yeasts, are aerobic. They are abundant in surface soils and are important for their role in nutrient cycling and the decomposition of organic matter and organic contaminants. White rot fungi (phanerochaete chryosporium) for example, (Figure 1) are known to degrade aromatics. Figure 1. White rot on...
02:44
Gliding Motility in Phormidium lacuna Filaments
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2025
Source: Weber, N., et al., Natural Transformation, Protein Expression, and Cryoconservation of the Filamentous Cyanobacterium Phormidium lacuna. J. Vis. Exp. (2022)This video demonstrates the procedure to assess gliding motility in Phormidium lacuna by homogenizing filament cultures to create a uniform suspension, preparing a Petri plate assay setup over a microscope slide, and visualizing filament movement.
06:01
The Gliding Actin Filament Assay: An In Vitro Motility Assay to Study Translocation of Actin Filaments on Immobilized Myosins
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2025
In this video, we perform an in vitro motility assay to analyze the actin-myosin interactions. The gliding movement of actin filaments on immobilized myosin molecules is visualized using fluorescence microscopy.
03:27
Assessing Antibiotic-Induced Filamentation in E. coli Using Plating Assay and Flow Cytometry
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2025
Source: Cayron, J., and Lesterlin, C. Multi-scale Analysis of Bacterial Growth Under Stress Treatments. J. Vis. Exp. (2019)This video demonstrates the procedure for assessing E. coli filamentation and DNA replication under cell division-inhibiting antibiotic treatment using plating to measure viability and flow cytometry to analyze cell size and DNA content.
04:37
Natural Transformation and GFP Expression in the Filamentous Cyanobacterium Phormidium lacuna
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2025
Source: Weber, N., et al., Natural Transformation, Protein Expression, and Cryoconservation of the Filamentous Cyanobacterium Phormidium lacuna. J. Vis. Exp. (2022)This video describes a procedure for performing natural transformation in filamentous cyanobacteria using plasmid DNA to achieve stable GFP expression and antibiotic resistance through homologous recombination.
FAQs
Fungal hyphae extend mainly at their tips, where new cell material and wall components are added. This localized growth allows the structure to lengthen while maintaining a narrow, thread-like form. Continued tip extension helps the organism move across surfaces or through substrates, supporting exploration of available space and access to resources during colonization.
Branching connects growing hyphae into an interconnected mycelial network rather than leaving growth as a single linear extension. This organization increases the reach of the organism across a surface or substrate and supports nutrient acquisition and colonization. The resulting network also provides a structural basis for interactions with other organisms and for later developmental processes.
New cell material supplies the substance needed for hyphal extension, while newly added wall components help maintain the growing structure as it lengthens. Their coordinated addition at the tips makes sustained filament formation possible. This relationship is central to understanding how fungal cells expand, branch, and establish the larger mycelial structures observed in biological systems.
A useful examination considers where hyphae extend, how branching develops, and whether growth produces an interconnected mycelial network. Researchers can relate these structural features to broader outcomes such as surface spreading, substrate penetration, nutrient acquisition, and colonization. Observing these linked processes helps connect cellular growth behavior with fungal development and microbial ecology.
In industrial settings, this growth pattern matters because the resulting fungal structures are connected with processes such as fermentation and enzyme production. Studying how hyphae extend and branch can help explain the biological organization underlying these applications. The topic therefore links fungal development to practical systems that use microbial growth to generate useful products.
The ability of fungi to spread across surfaces or through substrates makes filamentous growth relevant to agriculture, where fungal colonization can influence interactions with plants and their environments. It is also important in research on pathogenic fungi because growth, branching, and network formation provide context for fungal development and interactions with other organisms. These perspectives support broader studies of microbial ecology.