ORCID ID
Ryan, Shawn/0000-0003-2468-1827
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-12-2016
Publication Title
Biophysical Journal
Abstract
Simultaneous acquisition of phase-contrast light microscopy and fluorescently labeled bacteria, moving within a dense swarm, reveals the intricate interactions between cells and the collective flow around them. By comparing wild-type and immotile cells embedded in a dense wild-type swarm, the effect of the active thrust generated by the flagella can be singled out. It is shown that while the distribution of angles among cell velocity, cell orientation, and the local flow around it is Gaussian-like for immotile bacteria, wild-type cells exhibit anomalous non-Gaussian deviations and are able to move in trajectories perpendicular to the collective flow. Thus, cells can maneuver or switch between local streams and jets. A minimal model describing bacteria as hydrodynamic force dipoles shows that steric effects, hydrodynamics interactions, and local alignments all have to be taken into account to explain the observed dynamics. These findings shed light on the physical mechanisms underlying bacterial swarming and the balance between individual and collective dynamics.
Repository Citation
Ryan, Shawn D.; Ariel, Gil; and Be’er, Avraham, "Anomalous Fluctuations in the Orientation and Velocity of Swarming Bacteria" (2016). Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications. 296.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/scimath_facpub/296
DOI
10.1016/j.bpj.2016.05.043
Version
Postprint
Publisher's Statement
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2016.05.043
Volume
111
Issue
1
Comments
A.B. is thankful for partial support from European Union/FP7 REA grant No. 321777, The Israel Science Foundation’s grant No. 337/12, and the Roy J. Zuckerberg Career Development Chair for Water Research.