Bugs on a Slippery Plane : Understanding the Motility of Microbial Pathogens with Mathematical Modelling

Many pathogenic microorganisms live in close association with surfaces, typically in thin films that either arise naturally or that they themselves create. In response to this constrained environment, the cells adjust their behaviour and morphology, invoking communication channels and inducing physical phenomena that allow for rapid colonization of biomedically relevant surfaces or the promotion of virulence factors. Thus, it is very important to measure and theoretically understand the key mechanisms for the apparent advantage obtained from swimming in thin films. We discuss experimental measurements of flows around a peritrichously flagellated bacterium constrained in a thin film, derive a simplified mathematical theory and Green's functions for flows in a thin film with general slip boundary conditions, and establish connections between theoretical and experimental results. This article aims to highlight the importance of mathematics as a tool to unlock qualitative mechanisms associated with experimental observations in the medical and biological sciences.