Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Flagellar swimming hydrodynamics confers a recognized advantage for attachment on solid surfaces. Whether this motility further enables the following environmental cues was experimentally explored. Motile E. coli (OD ~ 0.1) in a 100 µm-thick channel were exposed to off-equilibrium gradients set by a chemorepellent Ni(NO3)2-source (250 mM). Single bacterial dynamics at the solid surface was analyzed by dark-field videomicroscopy at a fixed position. The number of bacteria indicated their congregation into a wave escaping from the repellent source. Besides the high velocity drift in the propagation direction within the wave, an unexpectedly high perpendicular component drift was also observed. Swimming hydrodynamics CW-bends the bacteria trajectories during their primo approach to the surface (< 2 µm), and a high enough tumbling frequency likely preserves a notable lateral drift. This comprehension substantiates a survival strategy tailored to toxic environments, which involves drifting along surfaces, promoting the inception of colonization at the most advantageous sites. Graphical abstract
Source: The European Physical Journal E
Institutions: Lyon 1 Université, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire de Physique de l'ENS de Lyon, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon : Terre, Planètes et Environnement, Université Jean Monnet, Université Paris Cité, Sorbonne Université, Laboratoire Jacques-Louis Lions, Centre for Genomic Regulation, Institut Camille Jordan
Language: English
Topic: Micro and Nano Robotics
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,490
OpenAlex ID: W4402551829