Dynamics of bipolar lophotrichous bacterial motility
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Flagellated bacteria move toward favorable environments and away from harmful areas by rotating their flagella. The properties of the flagella, together with the shape of the cell body, determine the dynamics of bacterial motion and influence their swimming strategies. While much is known about the swimming strategies of other types of flagellated bacteria, little is understood about how bipolar flagellated bacteria swim. In this talk, we present a mathematical model for the motility of Campylobacter jejuni, a bacterium that rotates a flagellum at each pole to navigate through the viscous mucosa of its host’s gastrointestinal tract [Cohen et al, 2020]. We focus on the effects of the unique characteristics of its flagella and helical body on its swimming modes. Specifically, we examine how the two distinct zones of rigidity in the flagella and the helical body shape facilitate different swimming behaviors, including the wrapping mode, where the leading flagellum wraps around the cell body.