We added the following paragraph to the discussion: “Many of the model parameters, such as trichome length, diameter, gliding speed, reversal frequency, etc. are easily measured and are well known. However, the bending modulus is more difficult to measure directly. We attempted to use the bending modulus implied from the relation α= kBT ε and Boal and Ng’s (2010, p. 4625) measurements of the trichome persistence length, but the resulting value seemed too low compared to measurements of other bacteria and in practice the virtual trichomes appeared flaccid during simulations. It is possible that the flexure seen in Boal and Ng’s trichomes was due more to the motility of the trichomes than random thermal fluctuations, in which case the above relation would no longer be valid, and a more complex model would be required to associate the observed geometry of the trichomes to their bending modulus. For example, Wolgemuth (2005) used an elastic model to estimate the bending modulus of M. xanthus by fitting the model to the flailing motions of a Myxobacterium stuck at one end.”
Round 1: Author Response to Reviewer 2 We would like to thank the reviewer for his/her thorough review of our manuscript and thoughtful comments.