Studies of bacterial branching growth using reaction–diffusion models for colonial development

Ido Golding, Yonathan Kozlovsky, Inon Cohen and Eshel Ben-Jacob

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 1998, vol. 260, issue 3, 510-554

Abstract: Various bacterial strains exhibit colonial branching patterns during growth on poor substrates. These patterns reflect bacterial cooperative self-organization and cybernetic processes of communication, regulation and control employed during colonial development. One method of modeling is the continuous, or coupled reaction–diffusion approach, in which continuous time evolution equations describe the bacterial density and the concentration of the relevant chemical fields. In the context of branching growth, this idea has been pursued by a number of groups. We present an additional model which includes a lubrication fluid excreted by the bacteria. We also add fields of chemotactic agents to the other models. We then present a critique of this whole enterprise with focus on the models’ potential for revealing new biological features.

Keywords: Bacillus-subtilis; Reaction-diffusion; Morphology transition; Model; Organization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1998
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:260:y:1998:i:3:p:510-554

DOI: 10.1016/S0378-4371(98)00345-8

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