Effect of Cell Aspect Ratio on Swarming Bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Swarming bacteria collectively migrate on surfaces using flagella, forming dynamic whirls and jets that consist of millions of individuals. Because some swarming bacteria elongate prior to actual motion, cell aspect ratio may play a significant role in the collective dynamics. Extensive research on self-propelled rodlike particles confirms that elongation promotes alignment, strongly affecting the dynamics. Here, we study experimentally the collective dynamics of variants of swarming Bacillus subtilis that differ in length. We show that the swarming statistics depends on the aspect ratio in a critical, fundamental fashion not predicted by theory. The fastest motion was obtained for the wild-type and variants that are similar in length. However, shorter and longer cells exhibit anomalous, n

SUBMITTER: Ilkanaiv B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5525544 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature