A biophysical approach towards understanding swarming
A biophysical approach towards understanding swarming lead image
Many species of bacteria move across surfaces through a flagella-dependent movement called swarming. The motility patterns of these expanding cell populations are distinct across species.
Despite the wide range of environmental factors that influence motility and the different biological features bacteria possess, two activities — the production of surfactant and flagella movement — have the greatest impacts on swarming. Both biological processes and fluid-based mechanics guide these activities.
Current research often views swarming through either a biological or physical lens, neglecting the complete picture. To integrate the multiple approaches, Bru et al. reviewed the mechanisms in P. aeruginosa that lead to swarm expansion and tendril development.
“We noticed that discussions on swarming tended to focus solely on biology or fluid mechanics, and at times the models seemed to be mutually exclusive,” said author Jean-Louis Bru. “A review that describes swarming from multiple perspectives would be immensely helpful.”
The authors illustrated the roles of pressure-driven flow and osmolyte production in P. aeruginosa swarm expansion and tendril formation, and the role of surfactant flow in its organization. Additionally, by revisiting early observations of swarming, they were able to identify how current definitions diverged.
“Our approach enabled us to dive deep into understanding how a single species achieves swarming,” said author Albert Siryaporn. “We hope that the impact of this is a deeper understanding of swarming within the P. aeruginosa community and furthermore, that groups working with other bacterial species can assess the extent that mechanisms discussed here are present in other species.”
Source: “Swarming of P. aeruginosa: through the lens of biophysics,” by Jean-Louis Bru, Summer J. Kasallis, Quantum Zhuo, Nina Molin Høyland-Kroghsbo, and Albert Siryaporn, Biophysics Reviews (2023). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0128140 .
