The interaction of thin-film flow, bacterial swarming and cell differentiation in colonies of Serratia liquefaciens

Bees, M.A., Andresen, P., Mosekilde, E. and Givskov, M. (2000) The interaction of thin-film flow, bacterial swarming and cell differentiation in colonies of Serratia liquefaciens. Journal of Mathematical Biology, 40(1), pp. 27-63. (doi: 10.1007/s002850050004)

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.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Bees, Dr Martin
• Authors: Bees, M.A., Andresen, P., Mosekilde, E., and Givskov, M.
• Subjects: Q Science > QA Mathematics; Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Mathematics and Statistics > Mathematics
• Journal Name: Journal of Mathematical Biology
• Journal Abbr.: J. math. biol.
• Publisher: Springer
• ISSN: 0303-6812
• ISSN (Online): 1432-1416
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2000 Springer
• First Published: First published in Journal of Mathematical Biology 2000 40(1):27-63
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher