Bacteria optimize tumble bias to strategically navigate surface constraints

Abstract

In natural environments, solid surfaces present both opportunities and challenges for bacteria. On one hand, they serve as platforms for biofilm formation, crucial for bacterial colonization and resilience in harsh conditions. On the other hand, surfaces can entrap bacteria for extended periods and force them to swim along circular trajectories, constraining their environmental exploration compared to the freedom they experience in the bulk liquid. Here, through systematic single-cell behavioral measurements, phenomenological modeling, and theoretical analysis, we reveal how bacteria strategically navigate these factors. We observe that bacterial surface residence time decreases sharply with increasing tumble bias from zero, transitioning to a plateau at the mean tumble bias of wild-type Escherichia coli (~ 0.25). Furthermore, we find that bacterial surface diffusivity peaks near this mean tumble bias. Considering the phenotypic variation in bacterial tumble bias, which is primarily induced by noise in gene expression, this reflects a strategy for bacterial offspring persistence: In the absence of stimulus cues, some bacteria swiftly escape from the nearby surface in case it lacks nutrients, while others, with longer surface residence times, explore this two-dimensional environment most efficiently to find potential livable sites.