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Updated: Sep 5, 2025
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Investigating Flagella-Driven Motility in Escherichia coli by Applying Three Established Techniques in a Series
Published on: May 10, 2020
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Self-sustained three-dimensional beating of a model eukaryotic flagellum.
Bhargav Rallabandi1, Qixuan Wang2, Mykhailo Potomkin2
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA. bhargav@engr.ucr.edu.
Soft Matter
|July 6, 2022
Summary
This study models flagellum beating using sliding-controlled motor feedback, revealing how motor activity and bending resistance create complex 3D and planar movements. Anisotropic flagella can generate nearly planar beating, crucial for cell locomotion.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Cell Biology
- Biomimetic Engineering
Background:
- Flagella and cilia are vital for cellular locomotion and feeding.
- Their beating is driven by molecular motors with feedback regulation tied to flagellar deformation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a 3D model of flagellum beating incorporating sliding-controlled motor feedback.
- To investigate the influence of bending resistance and anisotropy on flagellar dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Developed a 3D computational model of flagellum beating.
- Incorporated sliding-controlled motor feedback, bending, twist, and differential bending resistances.
- Analyzed the spontaneous generation of beating via instability mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Sufficient motor activity spontaneously generates and sustains flagellar beating.
- Isotropic bending leads to 3D helical beating patterns.
- Anisotropic flagella exhibit diverse wave-like dynamics, including 3D and planar beating.
Conclusions:
- A modest degree of bending anisotropy is sufficient for generating nearly planar beating patterns.
- This finding explains the observed planar beating in eukaryotic flagella, like mammalian spermatozoa.
- The model provides insights into the biomechanics of microscale biological locomotion.
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