Immobility of isolated swarmer cells due to local liquid depletion

Ajesh Jose; Benjamín Pérez-Estay; Shira Omer Bendori; Avigdor Eldar; Daniel B. Kearns; Gil Ariel; Avraham Be’er

doi:10.1038/s42005-025-01996-4

Immobility of isolated swarmer cells due to local liquid depletion

Ajesh Jose, Benjamín Pérez-Estay, Shira Omer Bendori, Avigdor Eldar, Daniel B. Kearns, Gil Ariel, Avraham Be’er

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Bacterial swarming is a complex phenomenon in which thousands of self-propelled rod-shaped cells move coherently on surfaces, providing a highly studied example of active matter. However, bacterial swarming is different from most studied examples of active systems because single isolated cells do not move, while clusters do. The biophysical aspects underlying this behavior are unclear. In this work we explore the case of low local cell densities, where single cells become temporarily immobile. We show that immobility is related to local depletion of liquid. In addition, it is also associated with the state of the flagella. Specifically, the flagellar bundles at (temporarily) liquid-depleted regions are completely spread-out. Our results suggest that dry models of self-propelled agents, which only consider steric alignments and neglect hydrodynamic and hydration effects, are oversimplified and are not sufficient to describe swarming bacteria.

Original language	English
Article number	88
Journal	Communications Physics
Volume	8
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-01996-4
State	Published - 1 Dec 2025

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Physics and Astronomy

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10.1038/s42005-025-01996-4

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abstract = "Bacterial swarming is a complex phenomenon in which thousands of self-propelled rod-shaped cells move coherently on surfaces, providing a highly studied example of active matter. However, bacterial swarming is different from most studied examples of active systems because single isolated cells do not move, while clusters do. The biophysical aspects underlying this behavior are unclear. In this work we explore the case of low local cell densities, where single cells become temporarily immobile. We show that immobility is related to local depletion of liquid. In addition, it is also associated with the state of the flagella. Specifically, the flagellar bundles at (temporarily) liquid-depleted regions are completely spread-out. Our results suggest that dry models of self-propelled agents, which only consider steric alignments and neglect hydrodynamic and hydration effects, are oversimplified and are not sufficient to describe swarming bacteria.",

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AU - Jose, Ajesh

AU - Pérez-Estay, Benjamín

AU - Bendori, Shira Omer

AU - Eldar, Avigdor

AU - Kearns, Daniel B.

AU - Ariel, Gil

AU - Be’er, Avraham

PY - 2025/12/1

Y1 - 2025/12/1

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AB - Bacterial swarming is a complex phenomenon in which thousands of self-propelled rod-shaped cells move coherently on surfaces, providing a highly studied example of active matter. However, bacterial swarming is different from most studied examples of active systems because single isolated cells do not move, while clusters do. The biophysical aspects underlying this behavior are unclear. In this work we explore the case of low local cell densities, where single cells become temporarily immobile. We show that immobility is related to local depletion of liquid. In addition, it is also associated with the state of the flagella. Specifically, the flagellar bundles at (temporarily) liquid-depleted regions are completely spread-out. Our results suggest that dry models of self-propelled agents, which only consider steric alignments and neglect hydrodynamic and hydration effects, are oversimplified and are not sufficient to describe swarming bacteria.

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Immobility of isolated swarmer cells due to local liquid depletion

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