Physical
Aspects of Microorganism Cooperation
Knut Drescher
DAMTP
University of Cambridge
I will present theoretical and experimental work on
several physical challenges that motile aquatic microorganisms face. In
particular, I will show how the autonomous cells of the spherical alga
Volvox, a colonial organism without a central nervous
system, coordinate to achieve high-fidelity phototactic steering of the
colony as a whole. In addition, I will show how several Volvox colonies
can interact hydrodynamically to form 'dancing' bound states, and how
the fluid flow around a freely swimming individual can de understood.
Finally, I will describe how the flagellar coordination of
Chlamydomonas, the unicellular ancestor of Volvox, leads to the
swimming behavior of individuals and populations.