Study of Transport Characteristics of Motile Microorganisms Using Micro-Scale Devices
Abstract
Accurate numerical models of microbial transport are needed to support design and evaluation of bioremediation implementations. A sequence of micro-scale experiments using advanced microfluidics and imaging techniques was conducted to quantify the movement patterns of individual microbes and their interactions with solid surfaces in unobstructed medium and simple pore geometries. The set of bacteria studied encompasses strictly anaerobic, facultatively anaerobic, fermentative, and facultatively autotrophic species, with capacities to reduce a range of metals and radionuclides, as well as nitrate, using a variety of electron donors, including acetate, lactate, carbohydrates, and molecular hydrogen. Motion of motile microorganisms recorded over time provides results that can be analyzed to determine the character and several statistical attributes of microbial motion. Individual tracks on the order of several seconds to a few minutes in duration are characterized to provide information on 1) the length (distance in microns) of microbial runs, 2) velocity distributions along individual trajectories, and 3) the angle between the directions of sequential runs. Analysis of the microbial trajectories elucidates parameters related to dynamics of their motion. Comparison of these parameters with those of a classical Brownian motion yields crucial information on selection of appropriate model to account for microbial motility in relevant applications.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016AGUFM.H51D1512P
- Keywords:
-
- 1009 Geochemical modeling;
- GEOCHEMISTRYDE: 1832 Groundwater transport;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 1869 Stochastic hydrology;
- HYDROLOGY