This biological concept encompasses movement at various levels, from whole organisms to cells and subcellular components.
Motility is observed in animals, microorganisms, and even some plant structures, playing crucial roles in activities such as foraging, reproduction, and cellular functions.
Understanding motility is important in biology, medicine, and ecology, as it impacts processes ranging from bacterial behavior to ecosystem dynamics.
The term vagility means a lifeform that can be moved but only passively; sessile organisms including plants and fungi often have vagile parts such as fruits, seeds, or spores which may be dispersed by other agents such as wind, water, or other organisms.
[15] At the cellular level, different modes of movement exist: Many cells are not motile, for example Klebsiella pneumoniae and Shigella, or under specific circumstances such as Yersinia pestis at 37 °C.