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Biophys J, November 1999, p. 2377-2386, Vol. 77, No. 5

Bacterial Swimming Strategies and Turbulence

Rolf H. Luchsinger,*# Birger Bergersen,# and James G. Mitchell§

 *Theoretical Methods CCRC.C4, ABB Corporate Research LTH, CH-5405 Bade-Daetwill, Switzerland;  #Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada; and  §Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia

Most bacteria in the ocean can be motile. Chemotaxis allows bacteria to detect nutrient gradients, and hence motility is believed to serve as a method of approaching sources of food. This picture is well established in a stagnant environment. In the ocean a shear microenvironment is associated with turbulence. This shear flow prevents clustering of bacteria around local nutrient sources if they swim in the commonly assumed "run-and-tumble" strategy. Recent observations, however, indicate a "back-and-forth" swimming behavior for marine bacteria. In a theoretical study we compare the two bacterial swimming strategies in a realistic ocean environment. The "back-and-forth" strategy is found to enable the bacteria to stay close to a nutrient source even under high shear. Furthermore, rotational diffusion driven by thermal noise can significantly enhance the efficiency of this strategy. The superiority of the "back-and-forth" strategy suggests that bacterial motility has a control function rather than an approach function under turbulent conditions.

Biophys J, November 1999, p. 2377-2386, Vol. 77, No. 5
© 1999 by the Biophysical Society   0006-3495/99/11/2377/10  $2.00


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