Abstract
Understanding how bacteria move close to surfaces is crucial for a broad range of microbial processes including biofilm formation, bacterial dispersion, and pathogenic infections. We used digital holographic microscopy to capture a large number () of three-dimensional Escherichia coli trajectories near and far from a surface. We found that within from a surface tumbles are suppressed by 50% and reorientations are largely confined to surface-parallel directions, preventing escape of bacteria from the near-surface region. A hydrodynamic model indicates that the tumble suppression is likely due to a surface-induced reduction in the hydrodynamic force responsible for the flagellar unbundling that causes tumbling. These findings imply that tumbling does not provide an effective means to escape trapping near surfaces.
- Received 24 December 2013
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.068103
© 2014 American Physical Society
Synopsis
Surfaces Stop Bacteria From Tumbling
Published 7 August 2014
E. coli near a surface become easily trapped because liquid forces suppress their tumbling motion.
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