Corkscrew motion of Trypanosoma brucei is driven by helical beating of the flagellum and facilitated by its bent shape

[2512.10021] Corkscrew motion of Trypanosoma brucei is driven by helical beating of the flagellum and facilitated by its bent shape Skip to main content Search Submit Donate Log in Physics > Biological Physics arXiv:2512.10021 (physics) [Submitted on 10 Dec 2025 ( v1 ), last revised 25 Aug 2026 (this version, v2)] Title: Corkscrew motion of Trypanosoma brucei is driven by helical beating of the flagellum and facilitated by its bent shape Authors: Sizhe Cheng , Devadyouti Das , Mykhaylo Barchuk , Raveen Armstrong , Michele M. Klingbeil , Becca Thomases , Shuang Zhou View PDF Abstract: In the pathogenic parasite Trypanosoma brucei, a laterally attached flagellum drives rapid deformation of the complex cell body, producing puzzling dynamics. High-speed defocusing imaging reveals that surface points trace flower-like patterns in transverse planes. The petals arise from clockwise flagellar beating, which generates a right-handed helical wave propagating from the anterior tip along the body, advancing the cell like a twisted corkscrew. The central lobes result from slower counterclockwise body rotation required to balance the active torque. The bent cell shape underneath the flagellum superimposes these two chiral motions at different radial distances, producing the observed patterns. Three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations using the method of regularized Stokeslets reproduce these dynamics and show that bent cell shape enhances swimming, suggesting an adaptive advantage of T. brucei's morphology. Comments: 47 pages, 5 figures in manuscript, 11 figures in supplementary materials Subjects: Biological Physics (physics.bio-ph) ; Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft); Fluid Dynamics (physics.flu-dyn) Cite as: arXiv:2512.10021 [physics.bio-ph] (or arXiv:2512.10021v2 [physics.bio-ph] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2512.10021 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite Journal reference: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 123(27), e2536746123 (2026) Related DOI : https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2536746123 Focus to learn more DOI(s) linking to related resources Submission history From: Sizhe Cheng [ view email ] [v1] Wed, 10 Dec 2025 19:21:38 UTC (2,357 KB) [v2] Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:47:12 UTC (3,025 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View PDF view license Current browse context: physics.bio-ph < prev | next > new | recent | 2025-12 Change to browse by: cond-mat cond-mat.soft physics physics.flu-dyn References & Citations NASA ADS Google Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer ( What is the Explorer? ) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers ( What is Connected Papers? ) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps ( What is Litmaps? ) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations ( What are Smart Citations? ) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv ( What is alphaXiv? ) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers ( What is CatalyzeX? ) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub ( What is DagsHub? ) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub ( What is GotitPub? ) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face ( What is Huggingface? ) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast ( What is ScienceCast? ) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate ( What is Replicate? ) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces ( What is Spaces? ) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI ( What is TXYZ.AI? ) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower ( What are Influence Flowers? ) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender ( What is CORE? ) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs . Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax ( What is MathJax? ) We gratefully acknowledge support from our major funders , member institutions , and all contributors. About · Help · Contact · Subscribe · Copyright · Privacy · Accessibility · Operational Status (opens in new tab) Major funding support from

Related documents

• Corkscrew motion of Trypanosoma brucei is driven by helical beating of the flagellum and facilitated by its bent shape#670443
• A case report of a pathology in the ‘whip’ of a flagellicaudatan sauropod#1120022
• Raw data about control of copper ion homeostasis in Trypanosoma cruzi#406582
• Vampire bats in Belize harbor multiple <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> genotypes: Implications for parasite transmission at the wildlife–domestic–human interface#686611
• Monitoreo poblacional e identificación de amenazas para las tortugas Morrocoy (Chelonoidis carbonarius) y Terecay (Podocnemis unifilis) en el área de influencia directa del APE Casimena (Maní)#430312