Pressure-induced shape-shifting of helical bacteria. Issue 12 (8th March 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: L. Pastrana, César; Qiu, Luyi; Armon, Shahaf; Gerland, Ulrich; Amir, Ariel
• Is Part Of: Soft matter. Volume 19:Issue 12(2023)
• Page Start: 2224
• Page End: 2230
• Publication Date: 2023-03-08
• Subjects: Soft condensed matter -- Periodicals; 530.413
• DOI: 10.1039/d2sm01044e
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1744-683X

Abstract

Abstract : Many bacterial species are helical in form. By combining theory and experiment, we investigate the formation of helical shape, showing that it can be produced by pressurizing an elastic cylindrical vessel with a helical reinforced line. Abstract : Many bacterial species are helical in shape, including the widespread pathogen H. pylori . Motivated by recent experiments on H. pylori showing that cell wall synthesis is not uniform [J. A. Taylor, et al ., eLife, 2020, 9, e52482], we investigate the possible formation of helical cell shape induced by elastic heterogeneity. We show, experimentally and theoretically, that helical morphogenesis can be produced by pressurizing an elastic cylindrical vessel with helical reinforced lines. The properties of the pressurized helix are highly dependent on the initial helical angle of the reinforced region. We find that steep angles result in crooked helices with, surprisingly, a reduced end-to-end distance upon pressurization. This work helps explain the possible mechanisms for the generation of helical cell morphologies and may inspire the design of novel pressure-controlled helical actuators.