Modeling the role of water in Bacillus subtilis colonies

X. Mezanges, C. Regeard, C. Gerin, C. Deroulers, B. Grammaticos, and M. Badoual
Phys. Rev. E 85, 041913 – Published 18 April 2012

Abstract

We propose a simple cellular automaton model for the description of the evolution of a colony of Bacillus subtilis. The originality of our model lies in the fact that the bacteria can move in a pool of liquid. We assume that each migrating bacterium is surrounded by an individual pool, and the overlap of the latter gives rise to a collective pool with a higher water level. The bacteria migrate collectively when the level of water is high enough. When the bacteria are far enough from each other, the level of water becomes locally too low to allow migration, and the bacteria switch to a proliferating state. The proliferation-to-migration switch is triggered by high levels of a substance produced by proliferating bacteria. We show that it is possible to reproduce in a fairly satisfactory way the various forms that make up the experimentally observed morphological diagram of B. subtilis. We propose a phenomenological relation between the size of the water pool used in our model and the agar concentration of the substrate on which the bacteria migrate. We also compare experimental results from cutting the central part of the colony with the results of our simulations.

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  • Received 5 November 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.85.041913

©2012 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

X. Mezanges

  • Laboratoire IMNC, Université Paris VII-Paris XI, CNRS, UMR 8165, Bât. 404, 91405 Orsay, France

C. Regeard

  • Institut de génétique et microbiologie, Université Paris XI, CNRS, UMR 8621, Bât. 360-400-409, 91406 Orsay, France

C. Gerin, C. Deroulers, B. Grammaticos, and M. Badoual

  • Laboratoire IMNC, Université Paris VII-Paris XI, CNRS, UMR 8165, Bât. 404, 91405 Orsay, France

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Issue

Vol. 85, Iss. 4 — April 2012

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