Streptomycetes are sessile bacteria that produce metabolites that impact the behavior of microbial communities. Emerging studies have demonstrated that Streptomyces spores are distributed through various mechanisms, but it remains unclear how spores are transported to their preferred microenvironments, such as plant roots. Here, we show that Streptomyces spores are capable of utilizing the motility machinery of other soil bacteria. Motility assays and microscopy studies reveal that Streptomyces spores are transported to plant tissues by interacting directly with the flagella of both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Genetics experiments demonstrate that this form of motility is facilitated by structural proteins on the spore coat. These results demonstrate that nonmotile bacteria are capable of utilizing the motility machinery of other microbes to complete necessary stages of their lifecycle.

链霉菌是固着细菌，可产生影响微生物群落行为的代谢物。新兴研究表明，链霉菌孢子通过多种机制分布，但尚不清楚孢子如何运输到它们喜欢的微环境，例如植物根部。在这里，我们表明链霉菌孢子能够利用其他土壤细菌的运动机制。运动性测定和显微镜研究表明，链霉菌孢子通过与革兰氏阳性菌和革兰氏阴性菌的鞭毛直接相互作用而被运送到植物组织。遗传学实验表明，这种形式的运动是由孢子外衣上的结构蛋白促进的。这些结果表明，非运动细菌能够利用其他微生物的运动机制来完成其生命周期的必要阶段。