title: Variable cell morphology approach for individual-based modeling of microbial communities.
abstract: An individual-based, mass-spring modeling framework has been developed to investigate the effect of cell properties on the structure of biofilms and microbial aggregates through Lagrangian modeling. Key features that distinguish this model are variable cell morphology described by a collection of particles connected by springs and a mechanical representation of deformable intracellular, intercellular, and cell-substratum links. A first case study describes the colony formation of a rod-shaped species on a planar substratum. This case shows the importance of mechanical interactions in a community of growing and dividing rod-shaped cells (i.e., bacilli). Cell-substratum links promote formation of mounds as opposed to single-layer biofilms, whereas filial links affect the roundness of the biofilm. A second case study describes the formation of flocs and development of external filaments in a mixed-culture activated sludge community. It is shown by modeling that distinct cell-cell links, microbial morphology, and growth kinetics can lead to excessive filamentous proliferation and interfloc bridging, possible causes for detrimental sludge bulking. This methodology has been extended to more advanced microbial morphologies such as filament branching and proves to be a very powerful tool in determining how fundamental controlling mechanisms determine diverse microbial colony architectures.
authors.affiliation: Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Storck
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Picioreanu
authors.affiliation: Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; Centre for Microbial Electrosynthesis, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Bernardino
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Virdis
authors.affiliation: Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Electronic address: damienb@awmc.uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Damien J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Batstone
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002468:Cell Physiological Phenomena; D008829:Microbiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage