The mechanism of fractal-like structure formation by bacterial populations.
Three types of population growth and development of chemotaxic motile bacteria Escherichia coli on semi-solid nutrient media are investigated: a) stable development - circular symmetrical waves; b) bursts; c) fractal-like self-organization. Experimental investigation of the burst formation is presented. The microscopic analysis of growing, fractal-like structures is carried out, and a mechanism for such structure formation is suggested. It is supposed that fractal-like bacterial structures growth is based on the principle of successively forming multiple micro-bursts. A mathematical model has been suggested to reproduce the experimental results. The structures obtained by numerical modeling of population growth in the parameter space 'substrate concentration - bacterial movement rate' reproduce the corresponding experimental structures in the space 'nutrient concentration in the media - the density of the media'.
Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, Pushchino, Moscow region, 1429292 Russia.
M A
MA
Tsyganov
I B
IB
Kresteva
G V
GV
Aslanidi
K B
KB
Aslanidi
A A
AA
Deev
G R
GR
Ivanitsky
Bacterial population; Dynamics of spatial patterns; Escherichia coli; Fractal-like growth; Mathematical model; Structure formation