NON-LABELED CELL TRACKING VELOCIMETRY FOR BIOLOGICAL FLOWS

摘要

A tracking algorithm was developed to study the velocity field of flagellated bacteria, Serratia marcescens, swarming on a soft agar plate. Average velocities for local regions regularly arranged over the entire flow field were investigated rather than those for individual bacterium. The velocity field of the bacteria typically featured the combination of curvilinear translation and vortex modes. They repeated these patterns for a short time period, forming several groups and dissipating. To further investigate the flow patterns generated by the collective motion of the swarming bacteria, the velocity field on the swarm was spatially correlated.