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Collective motion of spherical bacteria
Amit Rabani [1] , Gil Ariel [2] , Avraham Be'er [1]
[1] Ben Gurion University
[2] Bar Ilan University
A large variety of motile bacterial species exhibit collective motions while inhabiting liquids or colonizing surfaces. These collective motions are often characterized by coherent dynamic clusters, where hundreds of cells move in correlated whirls and jets. Previously, all species that were known to form such motion had a rod-shaped structure, which enhances the order through steric and hydrodynamic interactions. This poster shows that the spherical motile bacteria Serratia marcescens exhibit robust collective dynamics and correlated coherent motion while grown in suspensions. As cells migrate to the upper surface of a drop, they form a monolayer, and move collectively in whirls and jets. At all concentrations, the distribution of the bacterial speed was approximately Rayleigh with an average that depends on concentration in a non-monotonic way. Our results demonstrate that self-propelled spherical objects do form complex ordered collective motion. This opens a door for a new perspective on the role of cell aspect ratio and alignment of cells with regards to collective motion in nature.