Encapsulated bacteria deform lipid vesicles into flagellated swimmers

Le Nagard, Lucas; Brown, Aidan T.; Dawson, Angela; Martinez, Vincent A.; Poon, Wilson C.K.; Staykova, Margarita

doi:10.1073/pnas.2206096119

Encapsulated bacteria deform lipid vesicles into flagellated swimmers

Le Nagard, Lucas; Brown, Aidan T.; Dawson, Angela; Martinez, Vincent A.; Poon, Wilson C.K.; Staykova, Margarita

Authors

Lucas Le Nagard

Aidan T. Brown

Angela Dawson

Vincent A. Martinez

Wilson C.K. Poon

Dr Margarita Staykova margarita.staykova@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

Abstract

We study a synthetic system of motile Escherichia coli bacteria encapsulated inside giant lipid vesicles. Forces exerted by the bacteria on the inner side of the membrane are sufficient to extrude membrane tubes filled with one or several bacteria. We show that a physical coupling between the membrane tube and the flagella of the enclosed cells transforms the tube into an effective helical flagellum propelling the vesicle. We develop a simple theoretical model to estimate the propulsive force from the speed of the vesicles and demonstrate the good efficiency of this coupling mechanism. Together, these results point to design principles for conferring motility to synthetic cells.

Citation

Le Nagard, L., Brown, A. T., Dawson, A., Martinez, V. A., Poon, W. C., & Staykova, M. (2022). Encapsulated bacteria deform lipid vesicles into flagellated swimmers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(34), https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2206096119

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jul 29, 2022
Online Publication Date	Aug 15, 2022
Publication Date	2022
Deposit Date	Sep 15, 2022
Publicly Available Date	Sep 16, 2022
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Print ISSN	0027-8424
Electronic ISSN	1091-6490
Publisher	National Academy of Sciences
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	119
Issue	34
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2206096119