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Bending Instability of Rod-Shaped Bacteria

Luyi Qiu, John W. Hutchinson, and Ariel Amir
Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 058101 – Published 1 February 2022
Physics logo See synopsis: Bending Hollow Rods Under High Pressure
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Abstract

A thin-walled tube, e.g., a drinking straw, manifests an instability when bent by localizing the curvature change in a small region. This instability has been extensively studied since the seminal work of Brazier nearly a century ago. However, the scenario of pressurized tubes has received much less attention. Motivated by rod-shaped bacteria such as E. coli, whose cell walls are much thinner than their radius and are subject to a substantial internal pressure, we study, theoretically, how this instability is affected by this internal pressure. In the parameter range relevant to the bacteria, we find that the internal pressure significantly postpones the onset of the instability, while the bending stiffness of the cell wall has almost no influence. This study suggests a new method to infer turgor pressure in rod-shaped bacteria from bending experiments.

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  • Received 3 August 2021
  • Accepted 20 December 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.058101

© 2022 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

  1. Research Areas
  1. Physical Systems
Physics of Living SystemsGeneral Physics

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Bending Hollow Rods Under High Pressure

Published 1 February 2022

Observing how rod-shaped bacteria deform could indicate their internal pressure.

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Authors & Affiliations

Luyi Qiu, John W. Hutchinson, and Ariel Amir

  • John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA

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Issue

Vol. 128, Iss. 5 — 4 February 2022

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