Regensburg 2025 – scientific programme

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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik

CPP 42: Active Matter IV (joint session BP/CPP/DY)

CPP 42.5: Talk

Friday, March 21, 2025, 10:45–11:00, H44

Micro-swimmer motility in presence of signaling factors — Agniva Datta, Robert Großmann, and •Carsten Beta — Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Germany

The navigation of bacteria through aqueous environments, driven by the rotation of helical flagella, has been a significant region of interest in the biophysics community for the last few decades. In this study, we focus on the motility of our model organism, Pseudomonas putida, which exhibits persistent mobile episodes (Active Brownian motion) interrupted by stochastic reorientation events (turns), driven by flagellar self-propulsion, thereby leading to a run-and-turn motility.

Key motility parameters including tumbling rates, run lengths, trajectory persistence (rotational diffusion coefficient), and the characteristics of the self-propulsion force*are hypothesized to depend on the density of quorum-sensing autoinducer molecules, produced by the bacteria themselves as signaling factors. To test this hypothesis, we expose swimming bacteria to aqueous environments with controlled autoinducer concentrations and analyze the resulting changes in motility patterns. Through a combination of experimental data and theoretical modeling, we aim to elucidate the principles of micro-swimmer motility in presence of signaling molecules.

Keywords: Signaling active matter; Micro-swimmer motility; Quorum sensing; Dynamic instability; Clock model