Periodic chirality transformations propagating on bacterial flagella.
When a helical bacterial flagellum, clamped at one end, is placed in an external flow, it has been observed that regions of the flagellum transform to the opposite chirality, and travel as pulses down the length of the filament, the process repeating periodically [H. Hotani, J. Mol. Biol. 156, 791 (1982)]]. We propose a theory for this phenomenon based on a treatment of the flagellum as an elastic object with multiple stable configurations. The simplest possible implementation of the model accurately reproduces key features seen in experiment.
Coombs
Daniel
D
Theoretical Biology and Biophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
Huber
Greg
G
Kessler
John O
JO
Goldstein
Raymond E
RE
D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D005407:Flagella / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological