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Main Authors: Jose, Ajesh, Perez-Estay, Benjamin, Bendori, Shira Omer, Eldar, Avigdor, Kearns, Daniel B., Ariel, Gil, Beer, Avraham
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.17842
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author Jose, Ajesh
Perez-Estay, Benjamin
Bendori, Shira Omer
Eldar, Avigdor
Kearns, Daniel B.
Ariel, Gil
Beer, Avraham
author_facet Jose, Ajesh
Perez-Estay, Benjamin
Bendori, Shira Omer
Eldar, Avigdor
Kearns, Daniel B.
Ariel, Gil
Beer, Avraham
contents Bacterial swarming is a complex phenomenon in which thousands of self-propelled rod-shaped cells move coherently on surfaces, providing an excellent example of active matter. However, bacterial swarming is different from most studied examples of active systems because single isolated cells do not move, while clusters do. The biophysical aspects underlying this behavior are unclear. In this work we explore the case of low local cell densities, where single cells become temporarily immobile. We show that immobility is related to local depletion of liquid. In addition, it is also associated with the state of the flagella. Specifically, the flagellar bundles at (temporarily) liquid depleted regions are completely spread-out. Our results suggest that dry models of self-propelled agents, which only consider steric alignments and neglect hydrodynamic effects, are oversimplified and are not sufficient to describe swarming bacteria.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_17842
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Immobility of isolated swarmer cells due to local liquid depletion
Jose, Ajesh
Perez-Estay, Benjamin
Bendori, Shira Omer
Eldar, Avigdor
Kearns, Daniel B.
Ariel, Gil
Beer, Avraham
Soft Condensed Matter
Biological Physics
Bacterial swarming is a complex phenomenon in which thousands of self-propelled rod-shaped cells move coherently on surfaces, providing an excellent example of active matter. However, bacterial swarming is different from most studied examples of active systems because single isolated cells do not move, while clusters do. The biophysical aspects underlying this behavior are unclear. In this work we explore the case of low local cell densities, where single cells become temporarily immobile. We show that immobility is related to local depletion of liquid. In addition, it is also associated with the state of the flagella. Specifically, the flagellar bundles at (temporarily) liquid depleted regions are completely spread-out. Our results suggest that dry models of self-propelled agents, which only consider steric alignments and neglect hydrodynamic effects, are oversimplified and are not sufficient to describe swarming bacteria.
title Immobility of isolated swarmer cells due to local liquid depletion
topic Soft Condensed Matter
Biological Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.17842