• secretion of sheaths

    TITLE: bacteria: Capsules and slime layers
    SECTION: Capsules and slime layers
    ...that enmesh the bacteria into a floc that floats on the surface of liquid and keeps the bacteria exposed to air, a requirement for the metabolism of this genus. A few rod-shaped bacteria, such as Sphaerotilus, secrete long chemically complex tubular sheaths that enclose substantial numbers of the bacteria. The sheaths of these and many other environmental bacteria can become encrusted...