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Tangential velocity of swimming (fastest prokaryotic swimmer known)

Range	150 – 600 μm/sec
Organism	Bacteria Thiovulum spp.
Reference	Schulz HN, Jorgensen BB. Big bacteria. Annu Rev Microbiol. 2001 55: 105-37 p.112 2nd paragraph & p.124 top paragraphPubMed ID11544351
Primary Source	Fenchel T. 1994. Motility and chemosensory behavior of the sulfur bacterium Thiovulum majus. Microbiology 140: 3109–16 & Garcia-Pichel F. 1989. Rapid bacterial swimming measured in swarming cells of Thiovulum majus. J. Bacteriol. 171: 3560– 63PubMed ID2498293
Comments	"Similar to the protozoa, Thiovulum rotate and swim in a helical path with 3–10 rotations/sec at a radius of 5–40µm, a pitch of 40–250µm (BNID 110075), and a tangential velocity of 150–600µm/sec (Figure 2A)...Thiovulum cells have a diameter of 9–18µm (BNID 110078) and are the fastest prokaryotic swimmers known. With their many flagellae, they can obtain swimming velocities of up to 615µm/sec, an order of magnitude faster than most other bacteria (primary sources).
Entered by	Uri M
ID	110076