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Fast-Moving Bacteria Self-Organize into Active Two-Dimensional Crystals of Rotating Cells

Alexander P. Petroff, Xiao-Lun Wu, and Albert Libchaber
Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 158102 – Published 17 April 2015
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Abstract

We investigate a new form of collective dynamics displayed by Thiovulum majus, one of the fastest-swimming bacteria known. Cells spontaneously organize on a surface into a visually striking two-dimensional hexagonal lattice of rotating cells. As each constituent cell rotates its flagella, it creates a tornadolike flow that pulls neighboring cells towards and around it. As cells rotate against their neighbors, they exert forces on one another, causing the crystal to rotate and cells to reorganize. We show how these dynamics arise from hydrodynamic and steric interactions between cells. We derive the equations of motion for a crystal, show that this model explains several aspects of the observed dynamics, and discuss the stability of these active crystals.

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  • Received 3 December 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.158102

© 2015 American Physical Society

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Bacteria Stick Together as Living Crystals

Published 17 April 2015

Rotating bacterial cells suck one another into a 2D crystal structure, an unprecedented pattern for living organisms.

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Authors & Affiliations

Alexander P. Petroff1,*, Xiao-Lun Wu2, and Albert Libchaber1

  • 1Laboratory of Experimental Condensed Matter Physics, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065, USA
  • 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA

  • *apetroff@rockefeller.edu

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Issue

Vol. 114, Iss. 15 — 17 April 2015

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