Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

https://www.unibas.ch/en/News-Events/New...touch.html

EXCERPT: Although bacteria have no sensory organs in the classical sense, they are still masters in perceiving their environment. A research group at the University of Basel’s Biozentrum has now discovered that bacteria not only respond to chemical signals, but also possess a sense of touch. In their recent publication in “Science”, the researchers demonstrate how bacteria recognize surfaces and respond to this mechanical stimulus within seconds. This mechanism is also used by pathogens to colonize and attack their host cells....

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Bacterial cell walls are covered with proteins that kind of lock onto other chemicals and behave in different ways.  One of the functions of these proteins is adhesion to surfaces. But bacteria don't just stick to anything, they are selective about what they stick to. They will stick to particular kinds of cells or to particular materials that have metabolic significance in their lives. (That's one of the things that makes pathogenic bacteria virulent.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacterial_adhesin