Sharp turns and gyrotaxis modulate surface accumulation of microorganisms.

ABSTRACT: The accumulation of swimming microorganisms at surfaces is an essential feature of various physical, chemical, and biological processes in confined spaces. To date, this accumulation is mainly assumed to depend on the change of swimming speed and angular velocity caused by cell-wall contact and hydrodynamic interaction. Here, we measured the swimming trajectories of Heterosigma akashiwo (a biflagellate marine alga) near vertical and horizontal rigid boundaries. We observed that the probability of sharp turns is greatly increased near a vertical wall, resulting in significant changes in the distributions of average swimming speed, angular velocity, and rotational diffusivity near the wall (a quantity that has not previously been investigated) as functions of both distance from the wa

SUBMITTER: Zeng L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9586295 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature