A singly flagellated bacterium, the swarmer cell of Caulobacter crescentus is a model organism for studying the motility of other uni-flagellated bacteria that are vectors for human disease. Our analysis centers upon SB3860, a double mutant that lacks pili and swims exclusively in the forward direction, and its swimming behavior in methylcellulose and PEO400,000. Previous work has demonstrated enhancements of bacterial swimming speed in viscoelastic media1. We aim to elucidate the interactions between the flagellum and the surrounding polymer matrix to understand how viscoelasticity promotes swimming. We expect to observe a similar swimming speed peak for SB3860 in motility buffer complemented with these viscoelastic molecules. Preliminary data are inconclusive, but improvements upon current methods may be promising for the future. With the application of fluid dynamics, we hope to model the movement of microbes, such as P. aeruginosa and H. pylori in biologically-relevant settings.
Sha, Sha,
"Effect of viscoelastic media on caulobacter crescentus swimming speed"
(2014).
Summer Research Symposium.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://doi.org/10.26300/34wg-9m77
Each year, Brown University showcases the research of its undergraduates at the Summer Research Symposium. More than half of the student-researchers are UTRA recipients, while others receive funding from a variety of Brown-administered and national programs and fellowships and go …
