Related papers: Modeling torque versus speed, shot noise, and rota…
The bacterial flagellar motor drives the rotation of flagellar filaments and enables many species of bacteria to swim. Torque is generated by interaction of stator units, anchored to the peptidoglycan cell wall, with the rotor. Recent…
In a classic paper, Edward Purcell analysed the dynamics of flagellated bacterial swimmers and derived a geometrical relationship which optimizes the propulsion efficiency. Experimental measurements for wild-type bacterial species E. coli…
The rotary motor of bacteria is a natural nano-technological marvel that enables cell locomotion by powering the rotation of semi-rigid helical flagellar filaments in fluid environments. It is well known that the motor operates essentially…
The bacterial flagellar motor is a highly efficient rotary machine used by many bacteria to propel themselves. It has recently been shown that at low speeds its rotation proceeds in steps [Sowa et al. (2005) Nature 437, 916--919]. Here we…
Escherichia coli swims using flagella activated by rotary motors. The direction of rotation of the motors is indirectly regulated by the binding of a single messenger protein. The conformational spread model has been shown to accurately…
We use in vivo measurements of swimming bacteria in an optical trap to determine fundamental properties of bacterial propulsion. In particular, we determine the propulsion matrix, which relates the angular velocity of the flagellum to the…
The bacterial flagellar motor plays a crucial role in both bacterial locomotion and chemotaxis. Recent experiments reveal that the switching dynamics of the motor depends on the motor rotation speed, and thus the motor torque,…
The swimming properties of an E. coli-type model bacterium are investigated by mesoscale hy- drodynamic simulations, combining molecular dynamics simulations of the bacterium with the multiparticle particle collision dynamics method for the…
Although the motility of the flagellated bacteria, Escherichia coli, has been widely studied, the effect of viscosity on swimming speed remains controversial. The swimming mode of wild-type E.coli is often idealized as a "run-and- tumble"…
Respiration in bacteria involves a sequence of energetically-coupled electron and proton transfers creating an electrochemical gradient of protons (a proton-motive force) across the inner bacterial membrane. With a simple kinetic model we…
Rotation of a single bacterial flagellar motor is powered by multiple stators tethered to the cell wall. In a "power-stroke" model the observed independence of the speed at low load on the number of stators is explained by a…
The fluctuation-dissipation theorem describes the intimate connection between the Brownian diffusion of thermal particles and their drag coefficients. In the simple case of spherical particles, it takes the form of the Stokes-Einstein…
Numerous studies have explored the link between bacterial swimming and the number of flagella, a distinguishing feature of motile multiflagellated bacteria. We revisit this open question using augmented slender-body theory simulations, in…
We confine a dense suspension of motile \textit{Escherichia coli} inside a spherical droplet in a water-in-oil emulsion, creating a "bacterially" propelled droplet. We show that droplets move in a persistent random walk, with a persistence…
E. coli bacteria swim following a run and tumble pattern. In the run state all flagella join in a single helical bundle that propels the cell body along approximately straight paths. When one or more flagellar motors reverse direction the…
The bacterial flagellar motor (BFM) is responsible for driving bacterial locomotion and chemotaxis, fundamental processes in pathogenesis and biofilm formation. In the BFM, torque is generated at the interface between transmembrane proteins…
Many types of bacteria swim by rotating a bundle of helical filaments also called flagella. Each filament is driven by a rotary motor and a very flexible hook transmits the motor torque to the filament. We model it by discretizing…
Recent experiments on the bacterial flagellar motor have shown that the structure of this nanomachine, which drives locomotion in a wide range of bacterial species, is more dynamic than previously believed. Specifically, the number of…
The bacterial flagellar motor (BFM) converts transmembrane ion flux into directed mechanical rotation, driving bacterial motility. Despite extensive study, the frictional forces and energetics governing its torque generation remain poorly…
The chemotaxis pathway in the bacterium Escherichia coli allows cells to detect changes in external ligand concentration (e.g. nutrients). The pathway regulates the flagellated rotary motors and hence the cells' swimming behaviour, steering…