Transition to bound states for bacteria swimming near surfaces.

It is well known that flagellated bacteria swim in circles near surfaces. However, recent experiments have shown that a sulfide-oxidizing bacterium named Thiovulum majus can transition from swimming in circles to a surface bound state where it stops swimming while remaining free to move laterally along the surface. In this bound state, the cell rotates perpendicular to the surface with its flagella pointing away from it. Using numerical simulations and theoretical analysis, we demonstrate the existence of a fluid-structure interaction instability that causes cells with relatively short flagella to become surface bound.

Hydrodynamics with spin in bacterial suspensions.

We describe a kind of self-propelling motion of bacteria based on the cooperative action of rotating flagella on the surface of bacteria. Describing the ensemble of rotating flagella in the framework of the hydrodynamics with spin, the reciprocal theorem of Stokesian hydrodynamics is generalized accordingly. The velocity of the self-propulsion is expressed in terms of the characteristics of the vector field of flagella orientation and it is shown that the unusually high velocities of Thiovulum majus bacteria may be explained by the cooperative action of the rotating flagella. The expressions obtained enable us to estimate the torque created by the rotary motors of the bacterium and show quantitative agreement with the existing experimental data.