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PHYMOT

Physics of Microbial Motility
Physics of Microbial Motility
Founder	European Union’s Horizon 2020
Website	etn-phymot.eu

The International Training Network (ITN) PHYMOT^[1] 'Physics of Microbial Motility' is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 955910. PHYMOT is a Ph.D. training network program in the field of active matter^[2], in particular, active biological matter^[3] at the microscale. Research in PHYMOT focuses on the motility of microorganisms like bacteria, marine- and freshwater flagellates, and trypanosomes^[4].

The network started its action on Feb. 1st, 2021, and consists of 12 beneficiaries and 5 partner institutions coordinated by the Forschungszentrum Jülich. PHYMOT employs 15 early-stage researchers (ESRs) and provides a wide range of scientific and soft-skill training courses and exchange opportunities to them.

The PHYMOT consortium

PHYMOT consists of 12 beneficiaries and 5 partner organizations and is funded by the European Commission.

Beneficiaries
1. Forschungszentrum Jülich
2. Technical University of Denmark
3. ETH Zürich
4. Claude Bernard University Lyon 1
5. Sapienza University of Rome
6. University of Basel
7. University Würzburg
8. Synoptics^[5]
9. University of the Balearic Islands
10. University Cambridge
11. ESPCI Paris
12. LyncéeTec^[6]
Partner organisations

Objectives

PHYMOT's scientific objective is to understand the physics of cell motility, from single cells^[8] to collective behavior, and to acquire fundamental physical insight into the motile behavior of microbes as well as the interplay with their environment for sustainable applications in medicine and ecology.

PHYMOT's training activities provide the ESRs with a solid background in the physics and biology of microbial motility and equip the ESRs with state-of-the-art theoretical tools and experimental techniques.

Activities

PHYMOT offers its ESRs a range of specialized scientific training courses in hydrodynamics, biological aspects of microbial motility^[9], microfluidics, advanced microscopy techniques, and soft skills courses like communication skills, management, entrepreneurship, and career development. In addition, training is provided by secondments and mini-projects.

Besides training for its ESRs, PHYMOT organizes workshops and conferences open to the whole scientific community.

Research in PHYMOT

Physics of microbial motility

Motile microorganisms are among the most important life-forms on earth, not only because of their abundance but also because of their vital functions, e.g., in symbiosis with mammals or in ecosystems. Swimming and microscopic fluid propulsion have been linked to the evolution of multicellularity, and in extant animals, the same organelles that propel eukaryotic microorganisms play fundamental roles in embryonic development. Unraveling the basic principles of these propulsion mechanisms is essential for the development of novel strategies in the treatment of diseases, to understand microbial transport like the migration of marine phytoplankton in aquatic environments, and ultimately to open avenues for the control of biological systems and the design of artificial nanomachines.

Motility encompasses diverse interconnected phenomena: the propulsion mechanism of an individual flagellum, steering and directed navigation by a cell, the emergence of cooperative and collective motion of many cells (e.g., swarming), the response to environmental stimuli (e.g., light, flows), and the effect of confinement (e.g., geometrical restrictions).

PHYMOT's research activity focuses on these three different aspects of microbial motility both by experimental investigations (microscopy, microfluidics^[10], genetically modified microorganisms), theoretical studies (equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, hydrodynamics), and computer simulations (Brownian dynamics^[11], Multi-particle collision dynamics^[12] ^[13])

^ "PHYMOT".
^ "Collection of Nature articles".
^ Gompper, G. (2020). "The 2020 motile active matter roadmap". Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter. 32 (19). doi:10.1088/1361-648x/ab6348.
^ Kruger, T.; Schuster, S.; Engstler, M. (2018). "Beyond Blood: African Trypanosomes on the Move". Trends Parasitol. 34 (12): 1056–1067. doi:10.1016/j.pt.2018.08.002.
^ "Synoptics".
^ "LynceeTec".
^ "Cairn".
^ Sharma, P.; Lam, V. K.; Raub, C. B.; Chung, B. M. (2020). "Tracking Single Cells Motility on Different Substrates". Methods Protoc. 4: 56. doi:10.3390/mps3030056.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
^ Son, K.; Brumley, D. R.; Stocker, R. (2015). "Live from under the lens: exploring microbial motility with dynamic imaging and microfluidics". Nature Reviews Microbiology. 13: 761–775.
^ Rusconi, R.; Garren, M.; Stocker, R. (2014). "Microfluidics Expanding the Frontiers of Microbial Ecology". Annu. Rev. Biophys. 43: 65–91. doi:10.1146/annurev-biophys-051013-022916.
^ ten Hagen, B.; van Teeffelen, S.; Lowen, H. (2011). "Brownian motion of a self-propelled particle". J. Phys.: Condens. Matter. 23: 194119.
^ Malevanets, A.; Kapral, R. (2000). "Solute molecular dynamics in a mesoscale solvent". The Journal of Chemical Physics. 112 (16): 7260–7269. doi:10.1063/1.481289.
^ Qi, K.; Westphal, E.; Gompper, G.; Winkler, R. G. (2022). "Emergence of active turbulence in microswimmer suspensions due to active hydrodynamic stress and volume exclusion". Communications Physics. 5: 49.

[1] "PHYMOT".

[2] "Collection of Nature articles".

[3] Gompper, G. (2020). "The 2020 motile active matter roadmap". Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter. 32 (19). doi:10.1088/1361-648x/ab6348.

[4] Kruger, T.; Schuster, S.; Engstler, M. (2018). "Beyond Blood: African Trypanosomes on the Move". Trends Parasitol. 34 (12): 1056–1067. doi:10.1016/j.pt.2018.08.002.

[5] "Synoptics".

[6] "LynceeTec".

[7] "Cairn".

[8] Sharma, P.; Lam, V. K.; Raub, C. B.; Chung, B. M. (2020). "Tracking Single Cells Motility on Different Substrates". Methods Protoc. 4: 56. doi:10.3390/mps3030056.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)

[9] Son, K.; Brumley, D. R.; Stocker, R. (2015). "Live from under the lens: exploring microbial motility with dynamic imaging and microfluidics". Nature Reviews Microbiology. 13: 761–775.

[10] Rusconi, R.; Garren, M.; Stocker, R. (2014). "Microfluidics Expanding the Frontiers of Microbial Ecology". Annu. Rev. Biophys. 43: 65–91. doi:10.1146/annurev-biophys-051013-022916.

[11] ten Hagen, B.; van Teeffelen, S.; Lowen, H. (2011). "Brownian motion of a self-propelled particle". J. Phys.: Condens. Matter. 23: 194119.

[12] Malevanets, A.; Kapral, R. (2000). "Solute molecular dynamics in a mesoscale solvent". The Journal of Chemical Physics. 112 (16): 7260–7269. doi:10.1063/1.481289.

[13] Qi, K.; Westphal, E.; Gompper, G.; Winkler, R. G. (2022). "Emergence of active turbulence in microswimmer suspensions due to active hydrodynamic stress and volume exclusion". Communications Physics. 5: 49.

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