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gliding bacteria

plural noun
  1. bacteria that form colonies in a self-produced slime that permits them to glide, mainly inhabiting moist soils, decaying plant matter, animal waste, and rotting tree bark: some species produce brightly colored, funguslike fruiting bodies.
Also called slime bacteria, myxobacteria.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018