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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Investigating Flagella-Driven Motility in Escherichia coli by Applying Three Established Techniques in a Series
Published on: May 10, 2020
Hydrodynamic surface interactions enable Escherichia coli to seek efficient routes to swim upstream
Jane Hill1, Ozge Kalkanci, Jonathan L McMurry
1Yale University, Department of Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering Program, Mason Laboratory, Room 318, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8286, USA.
Abstract:
Escherichia coli in shear flow near a surface are shown to exhibit a steady propensity to swim towards the left (within the relative coordinate system) of that surface. This phenomenon depends solely on the local shear rate on the surface, and leads to cells eventually aligning and swimming upstream preferentially along a left sidewall or crevice in a wide range of flow conditions. The results indicate that flow-assisted translation and upstream swimming along surfaces might be relevant in various models of bacterial transport, such as in pyelonephritis and bacterial migration in wet soil and aquatic environments in general.
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