A Bacterial Swimmer with Two Alternating Speeds of Propagation
Theves M, Taktikos J, Zaburdaev V, Stark H, Beta C (2013)
Publication Status: Published
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2013
Journal
Publisher: CELL PRESS
Book Volume: 105
Pages Range: 1915-1924
Journal Issue: 8
DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2013.08.047
Abstract
We recorded large data sets of swimming trajectories of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida. Like other prokaryotic swimmers, P. putida exhibits a motion pattern dominated by persistent runs that are interrupted by turning events. An in-depth analysis of their swimming trajectories revealed that the majority of the turning events is characterized by an angle of phi(1) = 180 degrees (reversals). To a lesser extent, turning angles of phi(2 Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma) = 00 are also found. Remarkably, we observed that, upon a reversal, the swimming speed changes by a factor of two on average a prominent feature of the motion pattern that, to our knowledge, has not been reported before. A theoretical model, based on the experimental values for the average run time and the rotational diffusion, recovers the mean-square displacement of P. putida if the two distinct swimming speeds are taken into account. Compared to a swimmer that moves with a constant intermediate speed, the mean-square displacement is strongly enhanced. We furthermore observed a negative dip in the directional autocorrelation at intermediate times, a feature that is only recovered in an extended model, where the nonexponential shape of the run-time distribution is taken into account.
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Additional Organisation(s)
Involved external institutions
Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme (MPI PKS) / Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems
Germany (DE)
Universität Potsdam
Germany (DE)
Technische Universität Berlin
Germany (DE)
Germany (DE)
Universität Potsdam
Germany (DE)
Technische Universität Berlin
Germany (DE)
How to cite
APA:
Theves, M., Taktikos, J., Zaburdaev, V., Stark, H., & Beta, C. (2013). A Bacterial Swimmer with Two Alternating Speeds of Propagation. Biophysical Journal, 105(8), 1915-1924. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2013.08.047
MLA:
Theves, Matthias, et al. "A Bacterial Swimmer with Two Alternating Speeds of Propagation." Biophysical Journal 105.8 (2013): 1915-1924.
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