Dynamics of bacteria scanning a porous environment

Item Type:	Article
Title:	Dynamics of bacteria scanning a porous environment
Creators Name:	Irani, E. and Mokhtari, Z. and Zippelius, A.
Abstract:	It has recently been reported that bacteria, such as Escherichia coli Bhattacharjee and Datta, Nat. Commun. 10, 2075 (2019).NCAOBW2041-172310.1038/s41467-019-10115-1 and Pseudomonas putida Alirezaeizanjani et al., Sci. Adv. 6, eaaz6153 (2020).SACDAF2375-254810.1126/sciadv.aaz6153, perform distinct modes of motion when placed in porous media as compared to dilute regions or free space. This has led us to suggest an efficient strategy for active particles in a disordered environment: reorientations are suppressed in locally dilute regions and intensified in locally dense ones. Thereby the local geometry determines the optimal path of the active agent and substantially accelerates the dynamics for up to 2 orders of magnitude. We observe a nonmonotonic behavior of the diffusion coefficient in dependence on the tumbling rate and identify a localization transition, either by increasing the density of obstacles or by decreasing the reorientation rate.
Keywords:	Bacteria, Culture Media, Escherichia coli, Motion, Porosity
Source:	Physical Review Letters
ISSN:	0031-9007
Publisher:	American Physical Society
Volume:	128
Number:	14
Page Range:	144501
Date:	5 April 2022
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.128.144501
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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