title: Streaming instability in growing cell populations.
abstract: Flows of cells growing as a quasimonolayer in a confined space can exhibit streaming, with narrow streams of fast-moving cells flowing around clusters of slowly moving cells. We observed and analyzed this phenomenon experimentally for E. coli bacteria proliferating in a microfluidic cell trap using time-lapse microscopy. We also performed continuum modeling and discrete-element simulations to elucidate the mechanism behind the streaming instability. Our analysis demonstrates that streaming can be explained by the interplay between the slow adaptation of a cell to its local microenvironment and its mobility due to changes of cell-substrate contact forces.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, UCSD, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, California 92093-0412, USA.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mather
authors.forename: Octavio
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mondragón-Palomino
authors.forename: Tal
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Danino
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hasty
authors.forename: Lev S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Tsimring
mesh_terms: D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000166:cytology*; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; D008853:Microscopy; D013997:Time Factors