Dynamic Force Patterns of an Undulatory Microswimmer

ORAL

Abstract

{\it C. elegans} is a millimeter-sized nematode which has served as a model organism in biology for several decades, primarily due to its simple anatomy. Using an undulatory form of locomotion, this worm is capable of propelling itself through various media. Due to the small length scales involved, swimming in this regime is qualitatively different from macroscopic locomotion because the swimmers can be considered to have no inertia. In order to understand the microswimming that this worm exhibits, it is crucial to determine the viscous forces experienced during its motion. Using a micropipette deflection technique in conjunction with high speed imaging, we have directly measured the time-varying forces generated by {\it C. elegans} during swimming. Furthermore, by analyzing the body's kinematics over time and applying a model of locomotion, we can compute the theoretical force curves. We observe excellent agreement between the measured and calculated forces. The success of this simple model has important implications in the understanding of microswimming in general.

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Authors

  • Rafael Schulman

    Department of Physics \& Astronomy and the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

  • Matilda Backholm

    Department of Physics \& Astronomy and the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

  • William Ryu

    University of Toronto, Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

  • Miriam Rafailovitch

    McMaster University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8S 4M1, Department of Physics \& Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, L8S 4M1, Department of Physics \& Astronomy and the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, SUNY-Stony Brook