Editing Agarose (section)

=== Motility assays ===
Agarose is sometimes used instead of agar to measure microorganism motility and mobility. Motile species will be able to migrate, albeit slowly, throughout the porous gel and infiltration rates can then be visualized. The gel's porosity is directly related to the concentration of agar or agarose in the medium, so different concentration gels may be used to assess a cell's [[Flagellar motility|swimming]], [[Swarming motility|swarming]], [[gliding motility|gliding]] and twitching motility. Under-agarose cell migration assay may be used to measure [[chemotaxis]] and chemokinesis. A layer of agarose gel is placed between a cell population and a [[chemoattractant]]. As a concentration gradient develops from the [[diffusion]] of the chemoattractant into the gel, various cell populations requiring different stimulation levels to migrate can then be visualized over time using microphotography as they tunnel upward through the gel against gravity along the gradient.