Volume of water explored by a 0.4µm–diameter cell by Brownian diffusion (non-motile cell)
| Range | 45 pl (a ~35µm cube) of seawater in 10 min: 80 nl (a ~430µm cube) in a day µm^3 |
|---|---|
| Organism | Microbes |
| Reference | Stocker R. Marine microbes see a sea of gradients. Science. 2012 Nov 2 338(6107):628-33. doi: 10.1126/science.1208929. p.628 middle column 2nd paragraphPubMed ID23118182 |
| Comments | "For a nonmotile bacterium (or archaeon), cell size (~0.4 to 2µm diameter) defines the microenvironment. For example, nutrient uptake occurs from a small region surrounding the organism, the diffusion boundary layer, which spans a few cell diameters. There is little motion of the cell relative to the surrounding water, with Brownian diffusion allowing a 0.4µm–diameter cell to explore 45 pl of seawater (a ~35µm cube) in 10 min and 80 nl (a ~430µm cube) in a day." |
| Entered by | Uri M |
| ID | 110352 |