Hydrodynamics and direction change of tumbling bacteria.

ABSTRACT: The bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) swims in viscous fluids by rotating several helical flagellar filaments, which are gathered in a bundle behind the cell during 'runs' wherein the cell moves steadily forward. In between runs, the cell undergoes quick 'tumble' events, during which at least one flagellum reverses its rotation direction and separates from the bundle, resulting in erratic motion in place and a random reorientation of the cell. Alternating between runs and tumbles allows cells to sample space by stochastically changing their propulsion direction after each tumble. The change of direction during a tumble is not uniformly distributed but is skewed towards smaller angles with an average of about 62°-68°, as first measured by Berg and Brown (1972). Here we develop a theoreti

SUBMITTER: Dvoriashyna M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8291660 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature