1
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Wu-Zhang B, Fedosov DA, Gompper G. Collective behavior of squirmers in thin films. SOFT MATTER 2024; 20:5687-5702. [PMID: 38639062 DOI: 10.1039/d4sm00075g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Bacteria in biofilms form complex structures and can collectively migrate within mobile aggregates, which is referred to as swarming. This behavior is influenced by a combination of various factors, including morphological characteristics and propulsive forces of swimmers, their volume fraction within a confined environment, and hydrodynamic and steric interactions between them. In our study, we employ the squirmer model for microswimmers and the dissipative particle dynamics method for fluid modeling to investigate the collective motion of swimmers in thin films. The film thickness permits a free orientation of non-spherical squirmers, but constraints them to form a two-layered structure at maximum. Structural and dynamic properties of squirmer suspensions confined within the slit are analyzed for different volume fractions of swimmers, motility types (e.g., pusher, neutral squirmer, puller), and the presence of a rotlet dipolar flow field, which mimics the counter-rotating flow generated by flagellated bacteria. Different states are characterized, including a gas-like phase, swarming, and motility-induced phase separation, as a function of increasing volume fraction. Our study highlights the importance of an anisotropic swimmer shape, hydrodynamic interactions between squirmers, and their interaction with the walls for the emergence of different collective behaviors. Interestingly, the formation of collective structures may not be symmetric with respect to the two walls. Furthermore, the presence of a rotlet dipole significantly mitigates differences in the collective behavior between various swimmer types. These results contribute to a better understanding of the formation of bacterial biofilms and the emergence of collective states in confined active matter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bohan Wu-Zhang
- Theoretical Physics of Living Matter, Institute of Biological Information Processing and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
| | - Dmitry A Fedosov
- Theoretical Physics of Living Matter, Institute of Biological Information Processing and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
| | - Gerhard Gompper
- Theoretical Physics of Living Matter, Institute of Biological Information Processing and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
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2
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Tan F, Wang J, Yan R, Zhao N. Forced and spontaneous translocation dynamics of a semiflexible active polymer in two dimensions. SOFT MATTER 2024; 20:1120-1132. [PMID: 38224190 DOI: 10.1039/d3sm01409f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
Polymer translocation is a fundamental topic in non-equilibrium physics and is crucially important to many biological processes in life. In the present work, we adopt two-dimensional Langevin dynamics simulations to study the forced and spontaneous translocation dynamics of an active filament. The influence of polymer stiffness on the underlying dynamics is explicitly analyzed. For the forced translocation, the results show a robust stiffness-induced inhibition, and the translocation time exhibits a dual-exponent scaling relationship with the bending modulus. Tension propagation (TP) is also examined, where we find prominent modifications in terms of both activity and stiffness. For spontaneous translocation into a pure solvent, the translocation time is almost independent of the polymer stiffness. However, when the polymer is translocated into a porous medium, an intriguing non-monotonic alteration of translocation time with increasing chain stiffness is demonstrated. The semiflexible chain is beneficial for translocation while the rigid chain is not conducive. Stiffness regulation on the diffusion dynamics of the polymer in porous media shows a consistent scenario. The interplay of activity, stiffness, and porous crowding provides a new mechanism for understanding the non-trivial translocation dynamics of an active filament in complex environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Tan
- College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
| | - Jingli Wang
- College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
| | - Ran Yan
- College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
| | - Nanrong Zhao
- College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
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3
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Lee SY, Schönhöfer PWA, Glotzer SC. Complex motion of steerable vesicular robots filled with active colloidal rods. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22773. [PMID: 38123626 PMCID: PMC10733302 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49314-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
While the collective motion of active particles has been studied extensively, effective strategies to navigate particle swarms without external guidance remain elusive. We introduce a method to control the trajectories of two-dimensional swarms of active rod-like particles by confining the particles to rigid bounding membranes (vesicles) with non-uniform curvature. We show that the propelling agents spontaneously form clusters at the membrane wall and collectively propel the vesicle, turning it into an active superstructure. To further guide the motion of the superstructure, we add discontinuous features to the rigid membrane boundary in the form of a kinked tip, which acts as a steering component to direct the motion of the vesicle. We report that the system's geometrical and material properties, such as the aspect ratio and Péclet number of the active rods as well as the kink angle and flexibility of the membrane, determine the stacking of active particles close to the kinked confinement and induce a diverse set of dynamical behaviors of the superstructure, including linear and circular motion both in the direction of, and opposite to, the kink. From a systematic study of these various behaviors, we design vesicles with switchable and reversible locomotions by tuning the confinement parameters. The observed phenomena suggest a promising mechanism for particle transportation and could be used as a basic element to navigate active matter through complex and tortuous environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Y Lee
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA
| | - Philipp W A Schönhöfer
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA
| | - Sharon C Glotzer
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA.
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA.
- Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA.
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4
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Díaz J, Pagonabarraga I. Emergent structures in active block copolymer composites. Phys Rev E 2023; 108:L062601. [PMID: 38243535 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.108.l062601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Block copolymer melts offer unique templates to control the position and alignment of nanoparticles due to their ability to self-assemble into periodic ordered structures. Active particles are shown to coassemble with block copolymers leading to emergent organized structures. The block copolymer acts as a soft template that can control the self-propulsion of active particles, both for interface-segregated and selective nanoparticles. At moderate activities, active particles can form organized structures such as polarized trains or rotating vortices. At high activity, the contrast in the polymeric and colloidal timescales can lead to particle swarms with distorted block copolymer morphology, due to the competition between polymeric self-assembly and active Brownian self-propulsion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Díaz
- Departament de Física de la Matèria Condensada, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franqués 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain and Universitat de Barcelona Institute of Complex Systems (UBICS), Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ignacio Pagonabarraga
- Departament de Física de la Matèria Condensada, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franqués 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain and Universitat de Barcelona Institute of Complex Systems (UBICS), Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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5
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Saintillan D. Dispersion of run-and-tumble microswimmers through disordered media. Phys Rev E 2023; 108:064608. [PMID: 38243487 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.108.064608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Understanding the transport properties of microorganisms and self-propelled particles in porous media has important implications for human health as well as microbial ecology. In free space, most microswimmers perform diffusive random walks as a result of the interplay of self-propulsion and orientation decorrelation mechanisms such as run-and-tumble dynamics or rotational diffusion. In an unstructured porous medium, collisions with the microstructure result in a decrease in the effective spatial diffusivity of the particles from its free-space value. Here, we analyze this problem for a simple model system consisting of noninteracting point particles performing run-and-tumble dynamics through a two-dimensional disordered medium composed of a random distribution of circular obstacles, in the absence of Brownian diffusion or hydrodynamic interactions. The particles are assumed to collide with the obstacles as hard spheres and subsequently slide on the obstacle surface with no frictional resistance while maintaining their orientation, until they either escape or tumble. We show that the variations in the long-time diffusivity can be described by a universal dimensionless hindrance function f(ϕ,Pe) of the obstacle area fraction ϕ and Péclet number Pe, or ratio of the swimmer run length to the obstacle size. We analytically derive an asymptotic expression for the hindrance function valid for dilute media (Peϕ≪1), and its extension to denser media is obtained using stochastic simulations. As we explain, the model is also easily generalized to describe dispersion in three dimensions.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Saintillan
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
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6
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Cordero M, Mitarai N, Jauffred L. Motility mediates satellite formation in confined biofilms. THE ISME JOURNAL 2023; 17:1819-1827. [PMID: 37592064 PMCID: PMC10579341 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-023-01494-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
Bacteria have spectacular survival capabilities and can spread in many, vastly different environments. For instance, when pathogenic bacteria infect a host, they expand by proliferation and squeezing through narrow pores and elastic matrices. However, the exact role of surface structures-important for biofilm formation and motility-and matrix density in colony expansion and morphogenesis is still largely unknown. Using confocal laser-scanning microscopy, we show how satellite colonies emerge around Escherichia coli colonies embedded in semi-dense hydrogel in controlled in vitro assays. Using knock-out mutants, we tested how extra-cellular structures, (e.g., exo-polysaccharides, flagella, and fimbria) control this morphology. Moreover, we identify the extra-cellular matrix' density, where this morphology is possible. When paralleled with mathematical modelling, our results suggest that satellite formation allows bacterial communities to spread faster. We anticipate that this strategy is important to speed up expansion in various environments, while retaining the close interactions and protection provided by the community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mireia Cordero
- The Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 17, DK-2100, Copenhagen O, Denmark
| | - Namiko Mitarai
- The Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 17, DK-2100, Copenhagen O, Denmark.
| | - Liselotte Jauffred
- The Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 17, DK-2100, Copenhagen O, Denmark.
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7
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Nsamela A, Garcia Zintzun AI, Montenegro-Johnson TD, Simmchen J. Colloidal Active Matter Mimics the Behavior of Biological Microorganisms-An Overview. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2023; 19:e2202685. [PMID: 35971193 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202202685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This article provides a review of the recent development of biomimicking behaviors in active colloids. While the behavior of biological microswimmers is undoubtedly influenced by physics, it is frequently guided and manipulated by active sensing processes. Understanding the respective influences of the surrounding environment can help to engineering the desired response also in artificial swimmers. More often than not, the achievement of biomimicking behavior requires the understanding of both biological and artificial microswimmers swimming mechanisms and the parameters inducing mechanosensory responses. The comparison of both classes of microswimmers provides with analogies in their dependence on fuels, interaction with boundaries and stimuli induced motion, or taxis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Audrey Nsamela
- Chair of Physical Chemistry, TU Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
- Elvesys SAS, 172 Rue de Charonne, Paris, 75011, France
| | | | | | - Juliane Simmchen
- Chair of Physical Chemistry, TU Dresden, 01069, Dresden, Germany
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8
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On the mean path length invariance property for random walks of animals in open environment. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19800. [PMID: 36396773 PMCID: PMC9672306 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24361-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Random walks are common in nature and are at the basis of many different phenomena that span from neutrons and light scattering to the behaviour of animals. Despite the evident differences among all these phenomena, theory predicts that they all share a common fascinating feature known as Invariance Property (IP). In a nutshell, IP means that the mean length of the total path of a random walker inside a closed domain is fixed by the geometry and size of the medium. Such a property has been demonstrated to hold not only in optics, but recently also in the field of biology, by studying the movement of bacteria. However, the range of validity of such a universal property, strictly linked to the fulfilment of equilibrium conditions and to the statistical distributions of the steps of the random walkers, is not trivial and needs to be studied in different contexts, such as in the case of biological entities occupied in random foraging in an open environment. Hence, in this paper the IP in a virtual medium inside an open environment has been studied by using actual movements of animals recorded in nature. In particular, we analysed the behaviour of a grazer mollusc, the chiton Acanthopleura granulata. The results depart from those predicted by the IP when the dimension of the medium increases. Such findings are framed in both the condition of nonequilibrium of the walkers, which is typical of animals in nature, and the characteristics of actual animal movements.
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9
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Al Harraq A, Bello M, Bharti B. A guide to design the trajectory of active particles: From fundamentals to applications. Curr Opin Colloid Interface Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cocis.2022.101612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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10
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Kurzthaler C, Mandal S, Bhattacharjee T, Löwen H, Datta SS, Stone HA. A geometric criterion for the optimal spreading of active polymers in porous media. Nat Commun 2021; 12:7088. [PMID: 34873164 PMCID: PMC8648790 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26942-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Efficient navigation through disordered, porous environments poses a major challenge for swimming microorganisms and future synthetic cargo-carriers. We perform Brownian dynamics simulations of active stiff polymers undergoing run-reverse dynamics, and so mimic bacterial swimming, in porous media. In accord with experiments of Escherichia coli, the polymer dynamics are characterized by trapping phases interrupted by directed hopping motion through the pores. Our findings show that the spreading of active agents in porous media can be optimized by tuning their run lengths, which we rationalize using a coarse-grained model. More significantly, we discover a geometric criterion for the optimal spreading, which emerges when their run lengths are comparable to the longest straight path available in the porous medium. Our criterion unifies results for porous media with disparate pore sizes and shapes and for run-and-tumble polymers. It thus provides a fundamental principle for optimal transport of active agents in densely-packed biological and environmental settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Kurzthaler
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA.
| | - Suvendu Mandal
- Institut für Theoretische Physik II: Weiche Materie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
- Physikalisches Institut, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
- Institut für Physik der kondensierten Materie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64289, Darmstadt, Germany.
| | - Tapomoy Bhattacharjee
- The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, 560065, India
| | - Hartmut Löwen
- Institut für Theoretische Physik II: Weiche Materie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Sujit S Datta
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
| | - Howard A Stone
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA.
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11
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Colin R, Ni B, Laganenka L, Sourjik V. Multiple functions of flagellar motility and chemotaxis in bacterial physiology. FEMS Microbiol Rev 2021; 45:fuab038. [PMID: 34227665 PMCID: PMC8632791 DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fuab038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Most swimming bacteria are capable of following gradients of nutrients, signaling molecules and other environmental factors that affect bacterial physiology. This tactic behavior became one of the most-studied model systems for signal transduction and quantitative biology, and underlying molecular mechanisms are well characterized in Escherichia coli and several other model bacteria. In this review, we focus primarily on less understood aspect of bacterial chemotaxis, namely its physiological relevance for individual bacterial cells and for bacterial populations. As evident from multiple recent studies, even for the same bacterial species flagellar motility and chemotaxis might serve multiple roles, depending on the physiological and environmental conditions. Among these, finding sources of nutrients and more generally locating niches that are optimal for growth appear to be one of the major functions of bacterial chemotaxis, which could explain many chemoeffector preferences as well as flagellar gene regulation. Chemotaxis might also generally enhance efficiency of environmental colonization by motile bacteria, which involves intricate interplay between individual and collective behaviors and trade-offs between growth and motility. Finally, motility and chemotaxis play multiple roles in collective behaviors of bacteria including swarming, biofilm formation and autoaggregation, as well as in their interactions with animal and plant hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Remy Colin
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology & Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Karl-von-Frisch Strasse 16, Marburg D-35043, Germany
| | - Bin Ni
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology & Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Karl-von-Frisch Strasse 16, Marburg D-35043, Germany
- College of Resources and Environmental Science, National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, China Agricultural University, Yuanmingyuan Xilu No. 2, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Leanid Laganenka
- Institute of Microbiology, D-BIOL, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 4, Zürich 8093, Switzerland
| | - Victor Sourjik
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology & Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Karl-von-Frisch Strasse 16, Marburg D-35043, Germany
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12
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Abstract
When the motion of a motile cell is observed closely, it appears erratic, and yet the combination of nonequilibrium forces and surfaces can produce striking examples of organization in microbial systems. While most of our current understanding is based on bulk systems or idealized geometries, it remains elusive how and at which length scale self-organization emerges in complex geometries. Here, using experiments and analytical and numerical calculations, we study the motion of motile cells under controlled microfluidic conditions and demonstrate that probability flux loops organize active motion, even at the level of a single cell exploring an isolated compartment of nontrivial geometry. By accounting for the interplay of activity and interfacial forces, we find that the boundary's curvature determines the nonequilibrium probability fluxes of the motion. We theoretically predict a universal relation between fluxes and global geometric properties that is directly confirmed by experiments. Our findings open the possibility to decipher the most probable trajectories of motile cells and may enable the design of geometries guiding their time-averaged motion.
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13
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Ramos CH, Rodríguez-Sánchez E, Del Angel JAA, Arzola AV, Benítez M, Escalante AE, Franci A, Volpe G, Rivera-Yoshida N. The environment topography alters the way to multicellularity in Myxococcus xanthus. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/35/eabh2278. [PMID: 34433567 PMCID: PMC8386931 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abh2278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
The social soil-dwelling bacterium Myxococcus xanthus can form multicellular structures, known as fruiting bodies. Experiments in homogeneous environments have shown that this process is affected by the physicochemical properties of the substrate, but they have largely neglected the role of complex topographies. We experimentally demonstrate that the topography alters single-cell motility and multicellular organization in M. xanthus In topographies realized by randomly placing silica particles over agar plates, we observe that the cells' interaction with particles drastically modifies the dynamics of cellular aggregation, leading to changes in the number, size, and shape of the fruiting bodies and even to arresting their formation in certain conditions. We further explore this type of cell-particle interaction in a computational model. These results provide fundamental insights into how the environment topography influences the emergence of complex multicellular structures from single cells, which is a fundamental problem of biological, ecological, and medical relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corina H Ramos
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cd. de México, C.P. 4510, Mexico
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cd. de México, C.P. 04510, Mexico
| | - Edna Rodríguez-Sánchez
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cd. de México, C.P. 04510, Mexico
| | - Juan Antonio Arias Del Angel
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cd. de México, C.P. 04510, Mexico
| | - Alejandro V Arzola
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cd. de México, C.P. 04510, México
| | - Mariana Benítez
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cd. de México, C.P. 04510, Mexico
| | - Ana E Escalante
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cd. de México, C.P. 04510, Mexico
| | - Alessio Franci
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cd. de México, C.P. 4510, Mexico
| | - Giovanni Volpe
- Department of Physics, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Natsuko Rivera-Yoshida
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cd. de México, C.P. 4510, Mexico.
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cd. de México, C.P. 04510, Mexico
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14
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Li SW, Lin PH, Ho TY, Hsieh CH, Sun CL. Change in rheotactic behavior patterns of dinoflagellates in response to different microfluidic environments. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11105. [PMID: 34045568 PMCID: PMC8160355 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-90622-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Plankton live in dynamic fluid environments. Their ability to change in response to different hydrodynamic cues is critical to their energy allocation and resource uptake. This study used a microfluidic device to evaluate the rheotactic behaviors of a model dinoflagellate species, Karlodinium veneficum, in different flow conditions. Although dinoflagellates experienced forced alignment in strong shear (i.e. “trapping”), fluid straining did not play a decisive role in their rheotactic movements. Moderate hydrodynamic magnitude (20 < |uf| < 40 µm s−1) was found to induce an orientation heading towards an oncoming current (positive rheotaxis), as dinoflagellates switched to cross-flow swimming when flow speed exceeded 50 µm s−1. Near the sidewalls of the main channel, the steric mechanism enabled dinoflagellates to adapt upstream orientation through vertical migration. Under oscillatory flow, however, positive rheotaxis dominated with occasional diversion. The varying flow facilitated upstream exploration with directional controlling, through which dinoflagellates exhibited avoidance of both large-amplitude perturbance and very stagnant zones. In the mixed layer where water is not steady, these rheotactic responses could lead to spatial heterogeneity of dinoflagellates. The outcome of this study helps clarify the interaction between swimming behaviors of dinoflagellates and the hydrodynamic environment they reside in.
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Affiliation(s)
- Si-Wei Li
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
| | - Po-Hsu Lin
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
| | - Tung-Yuan Ho
- Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan.,Research Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Hao Hsieh
- Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan.,Research Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan.,Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan.,Mathematics Division, National Center for Theoretical Sciences, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
| | - Chen-Li Sun
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan.
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15
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Kurzthaler C, Stone HA. Microswimmers near corrugated, periodic surfaces. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:3322-3332. [PMID: 33630004 DOI: 10.1039/d0sm01782e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
We explore hydrodynamic interactions between microswimmers and corrugated, or rough, surfaces, as found often in biological systems and microfluidic devices. Using the Lorentz reciprocal theorem for viscous flows we derive exact expressions for the roughness-induced velocities up to first order in the surface-height fluctuations and provide solutions for the translational and angular velocities valid for arbitrary surface shapes. We apply our theoretical predictions to elucidate the impact of a periodic, wavy surface on the velocities of microswimmers modeled in terms of a superposition of Stokes singularities. Our findings, valid in the framework of a far-field analysis, show that the roughness-induced velocities vary non-monotonically with the wavelength of the surface. For wavelengths comparable to the swimmer-surface distance a pusher can experience a repulsive contribution due to the reflection of flow fields at the edge of a surface cavity, which decreases the overall attraction to the wall.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Kurzthaler
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, New Jersey 08544, USA.
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16
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Du H, Xu W, Zhang Z, Han X. Bacterial Behavior in Confined Spaces. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:629820. [PMID: 33816474 PMCID: PMC8012557 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.629820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In confined spaces, bacteria exhibit unexpected cellular behaviors that are related to the biogeochemical cycle and human health. Types of confined spaces include lipid vesicles, polymer vesicles, emulsion droplets, microfluidic chips, and various laboratory-made chambers. This mini-review summarizes the behaviors of living bacteria in these confined spaces, including (a) growth and proliferation, (b) cell communication, and (c) motion. Future trends and challenges are also discussed in this paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hang Du
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China.,Center for Marine Antifouling Engineering Technology of Shandong Province, School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Weihai, China
| | - Weili Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
| | - Zhizhou Zhang
- Center for Marine Antifouling Engineering Technology of Shandong Province, School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Weihai, China
| | - Xiaojun Han
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
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Mandal S, Kurzthaler C, Franosch T, Löwen H. Crowding-Enhanced Diffusion: An Exact Theory for Highly Entangled Self-Propelled Stiff Filaments. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2020; 125:138002. [PMID: 33034497 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.125.138002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Revised: 07/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
We study a strongly interacting crowded system of self-propelled stiff filaments by event-driven Brownian dynamics simulations and an analytical theory to elucidate the intricate interplay of crowding and self-propulsion. We find a remarkable increase of the effective diffusivity upon increasing the filament number density by more than one order of magnitude. This counterintuitive "crowded is faster" behavior can be rationalized by extending the concept of a confining tube pioneered by Doi and Edwards for highly entangled, crowded, passive to active systems. We predict a scaling theory for the effective diffusivity as a function of the Péclet number and the filament number density. Subsequently, we show that an exact expression derived for a single self-propelled filament with motility parameters as input can predict the nontrivial spatiotemporal dynamics over the entire range of length and timescales. In particular, our theory captures short-time diffusion, directed swimming motion at intermediate times, and the transition to complete orientational relaxation at long times.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suvendu Mandal
- Institut für Theoretische Physik II: Weiche Materie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Christina Kurzthaler
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
- Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Thomas Franosch
- Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Hartmut Löwen
- Institut für Theoretische Physik II: Weiche Materie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
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18
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Feedback-controlled active brownian colloids with space-dependent rotational dynamics. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4223. [PMID: 32839447 PMCID: PMC7445303 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17864-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2019] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The non-thermal nature of self-propelling colloids offers new insights into non-equilibrium physics. The central mathematical model to describe their trajectories is active Brownian motion, where a particle moves with a constant speed, while randomly changing direction due to rotational diffusion. While several feedback strategies exist to achieve position-dependent velocity, the possibility of spatial and temporal control over rotational diffusion, which is inherently dictated by thermal fluctuations, remains untapped. Here, we decouple rotational diffusion from thermal fluctuations. Using external magnetic fields and discrete-time feedback loops, we tune the rotational diffusivity of active colloids above and below its thermal value at will and explore a rich range of phenomena including anomalous diffusion, directed transport, and localization. These findings add a new dimension to the control of active matter, with implications for a broad range of disciplines, from optimal transport to smart materials. Active colloidal systems can serve as an enabling platform to study complex out-of-equilibrium physical phenomena. Using a magnetic control with a feedback loop, here the authors program the dynamics of active Brownian particles by updating their rotational diffusion coefficient depending on their locations.
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Makarchuk S, Braz VC, Araújo NAM, Ciric L, Volpe G. Enhanced propagation of motile bacteria on surfaces due to forward scattering. Nat Commun 2019; 10:4110. [PMID: 31511558 PMCID: PMC6739365 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12010-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2019] [Accepted: 08/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
How motile bacteria move near a surface is a problem of fundamental biophysical interest and is key to the emergence of several phenomena of biological, ecological and medical relevance, including biofilm formation. Solid boundaries can strongly influence a cell's propulsion mechanism, thus leading many flagellated bacteria to describe long circular trajectories stably entrapped by the surface. Experimental studies on near-surface bacterial motility have, however, neglected the fact that real environments have typical microstructures varying on the scale of the cells' motion. Here, we show that micro-obstacles influence the propagation of peritrichously flagellated bacteria on a flat surface in a non-monotonic way. Instead of hindering it, an optimal, relatively low obstacle density can significantly enhance cells' propagation on surfaces due to individual forward-scattering events. This finding provides insight on the emerging dynamics of chiral active matter in complex environments and inspires possible routes to control microbial ecology in natural habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanislaw Makarchuk
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AJ, UK
| | - Vasco C Braz
- Centro de Física Teórica e Computacional, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, P-1749-016, Lisboa, Portugal
- Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, P-1749-016, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Nuno A M Araújo
- Centro de Física Teórica e Computacional, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, P-1749-016, Lisboa, Portugal
- Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, P-1749-016, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Lena Ciric
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Giorgio Volpe
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AJ, UK.
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