Rotational dynamics of bound pairs of bacteria-induced membrane tubes

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Diwe, Makarand, Kumar, P B Sunil, Pullarkat, Pramod
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Diwe, Makarand
Kumar, P B Sunil
Pullarkat, Pramod
author_facet Diwe, Makarand
Kumar, P B Sunil
Pullarkat, Pramod
contents We present experiments demonstrating tube formation in giant unilamellar vesicles that are suspended in a bath of swimming E. coli bacteria. We chose the lipids such that the bacteria have no adhereing interaction with the membrane. The tubes are generated by the pushing force exerted by the bacteria on the membrane of the vesicles. Once generated, the bacteria are confined within the tubes, resulting in long-lived tubes that protrude into the vesicle. We show that such tubes interact to form stable bound pairs that orbit each other. We speculate that the tubes are maintained by the persistent pushing force generated by the bacterium, and the rotating pairs are stabilized by a combination of curvature mediated interaction and vorticity generated in the membrane by the rotation of the flagella.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_14612
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Rotational dynamics of bound pairs of bacteria-induced membrane tubes
Diwe, Makarand
Kumar, P B Sunil
Pullarkat, Pramod
Soft Condensed Matter
Biological Physics
We present experiments demonstrating tube formation in giant unilamellar vesicles that are suspended in a bath of swimming E. coli bacteria. We chose the lipids such that the bacteria have no adhereing interaction with the membrane. The tubes are generated by the pushing force exerted by the bacteria on the membrane of the vesicles. Once generated, the bacteria are confined within the tubes, resulting in long-lived tubes that protrude into the vesicle. We show that such tubes interact to form stable bound pairs that orbit each other. We speculate that the tubes are maintained by the persistent pushing force generated by the bacterium, and the rotating pairs are stabilized by a combination of curvature mediated interaction and vorticity generated in the membrane by the rotation of the flagella.
title Rotational dynamics of bound pairs of bacteria-induced membrane tubes
topic Soft Condensed Matter
Biological Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.14612