{"doi":"10.1128/spectrum.02620-25","title":"Revealing hidden moves: <i>Staphylococcus</i> spp. exhibit motility in semisolid media","abstract":"ABSTRACT Staphylococcus spp. are generally considered non-motile due to the absence of active motility structures. However, Staphylococcus aureus , Staphylococcus xylosus , and Staphylococcus epidermidis have demonstrated passive movement. This study investigated the motility of eight additional Staphylococcus species in semisolid media. While most species exhibited some motility, Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Staphylococcus schleiferi displayed significantly higher levels of motility. Then, we further evaluated the motility of 49 S . pseudintermedius and 30 S . schleiferi isolates, revealing strain-dependent variations. The influence of glucose, NaCl, temperature (35 and 39°C), and culture media (tryptic soy broth [TSB], brain heart infusion [BHI], and Luria Bertani [LB]) on the motility of these two species was evaluated. Glucose and NaCl induced morphological changes in the S. pseudintermedius colonies. In S. schleiferi , NaCl decreased, while glucose increased motility. Temperature and culture media also significantly affected motility, with S. schleiferi showing reduced movement in BHI and both species exhibiting decreased motility in LB compared to TSB. Shedding light on surface motility in Staphylococcus , an understudied phenomenon, can provide insights to elucidate their biology and clarify their mechanism of colonization, survival, and pathogenesis. IMPORTANCE The ability to move is an important characteristic for many bacteria to colonize and infect hosts, yet motility in Staphylococcus is understudied. Our work reveals that several species, notably S. pseudintermedius and S. schleiferi , can actively move across surfaces. This previously hidden capability may be crucial for how these bacteria spread and cause infections. Our evaluation of how different growth conditions and specific genes impact this trait shows species-dependent effects. This study opens new research avenues for understanding the mechanisms these bacteria use to spread within both the environment and their hosts.","journal":"Microbiology Spectrum","year":2025,"id":580255,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":0,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9594,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2025-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1491514,"name":"Thiago F. S. Coimbra","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1491070,"name":"Thaís Glatthardt","orcid":"0009-0007-1653-2166","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1491515,"name":"Clara Maria Guimarães Silva","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1491071,"name":"Kátia Regina Netto dos Santos","orcid":"0000-0002-1708-6686","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1491072,"name":"Bruno Penna","orcid":"0000-0001-7880-9270","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1366327,"name":"Rosana B. R. Ferreira","orcid":"0000-0002-7162-0026","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1491513,"name":"Jessica F. S. Lopes","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":40,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:58:38.868285Z","pmid":"41196034","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}