Chiral Self-Propulsion of Growing Bacterial Macrofibers on a Solid Surface

Neil H. Mendelson, Joelle E. Sarlls, Charles W. Wolgemuth, and Raymond E. Goldstein
Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 1627 – Published 14 February 2000
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Abstract

Supercoiling motions that accompany the growth of bacterial macrofibers (multicellular filamentous structures formed in B. subtilis by cell division without separation) are responsible for rolling, pivoting, and walking of fibers on a surface. Fibers possess a fulcrum about which they pivot and step in a chiral manner; forces and torques associated with cell growth, when blocked by friction, result in self-propulsion. The elastic engine that drives macrofiber motions generates torques estimated as μdyncm and femtowatts of power; optical trapping studies yield a first direct measurement of the Young's modulus of the bacterial cell wall, the engine's “working fluid,” of ca. 0.05GPa.

  • Received 26 August 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.1627

©2000 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Neil H. Mendelson1, Joelle E. Sarlls2, Charles W. Wolgemuth2, and Raymond E. Goldstein2,3

  • 1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721
  • 2Department of Physics, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721
  • 3Program in Applied Mathematics, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721

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Vol. 84, Iss. 7 — 14 February 2000

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