The interaction of thin-film flow, bacterial swarming and cell differentiation in colonies of Serratia liquefaciens |
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Authors: | M A Bees P Andresén E Mosekilde M Givskov |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark. e-mail: m.bees@surrey.ac.uk, DK;(2) Department of Microbiology, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark, DK |
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Abstract: | The rate of expansion of bacterial colonies of S. liquefaciens is investigated in terms of a mathematical model that combines biological as well as hydrodynamic processes. The relative
importance of cell differentiation and production of an extracellular wetting agent to bacterial swarming is explored using
a continuum representation. The model incorporates aspects of thin film flow with variable suspension viscosity, wetting,
and cell differentiation. Experimental evidence suggests that the bacterial colony is highly sensitive to its environment
and that a variety of mechanisms are exploited in order to proliferate on a variety of surfaces. It is found that a combination
of effects are required to reproduce the variation of bacterial colony motility over a large range of nutrient availability
and medium hardness.
Received: 29 April 1999 |
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Keywords: | : Swarming – Bacteria – Differentiation – Wetting agent – Thin film theory – Hydrodynamics |
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