title: Model for self-propulsive helical filaments: kink-pair propagation.
abstract: Spiroplasma bacteria propel through viscous fluids by sending kinks or domain walls between regions of opposite handedness down their helical body. A simple elastic model for the domain-wall propagation is formulated and studied using hydrodynamic simulations and scaling arguments, giving good agreement with recent video-microscopy observations. It is shown that the observed helical bacterial pitch angle psi approximately 35 degrees is optimized for maximal speed and efficiency.
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, Technical University Munich, 85748 Garching, Germany.
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.forename: Roland R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Netz
mesh_terms: D008841:Actin Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics / Q000379:methods; D002633:Chemotaxis; D018715:Microscopy, Video; D008954:Models, Biological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009068:Movement; D013149:Spiroplasma / Q000378:metabolism*; D049490:Systems Biology
chemical_list: D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins