Load Response of the Flagellar Beat

Gary S. Klindt, Christian Ruloff, Christian Wagner, and Benjamin M. Friedrich
Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 258101 – Published 14 December 2016
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Abstract

Cilia and flagella exhibit regular bending waves that perform mechanical work on the surrounding fluid, to propel cellular swimmers and pump fluids inside organisms. Here, we quantify a force-velocity relationship of the beating flagellum, by exposing flagellated Chlamydomonas cells to controlled microfluidic flows. A simple theory of flagellar limit-cycle oscillations, calibrated by measurements in the absence of flow, reproduces this relationship quantitatively. We derive a link between the energy efficiency of the flagellar beat and its ability to synchronize to oscillatory flows.

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  • Received 28 May 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.258101

© 2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Nonlinear DynamicsPhysics of Living Systems

Authors & Affiliations

Gary S. Klindt1, Christian Ruloff2, Christian Wagner2,3, and Benjamin M. Friedrich1,4,*

  • 1Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, 01187 Dresden, Germany
  • 2Experimental Physics, Saarland University, 66041 Saarbrücken, Germany
  • 3Physics and Materials Science Research Unit, University of Luxembourg, 1511 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
  • 4Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden cfaed, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany

  • *benjamin.m.friedrich@tu-dresden.de

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Issue

Vol. 117, Iss. 25 — 16 December 2016

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