Describing Myxococcus xanthus aggregation using Ostwald ripening equations for thin liquid films.

ABSTRACT: When starved, a swarm of millions of Myxococcus xanthus cells coordinate their movement from outward swarming to inward coalescence. The cells then execute a synchronous program of multicellular development, arranging themselves into dome shaped aggregates. Over the course of development, about half of the initial aggregates disappear, while others persist and mature into fruiting bodies. This work seeks to develop a quantitative model for aggregation that accurately simulates which will disappear and which will persist. We analyzed time-lapse movies of M. xanthus development, modeled aggregation using the equations that describe Ostwald ripening of droplets in thin liquid films, and predicted the disappearance and persistence of aggregates with an average accuracy of 85%. We then experime

SUBMITTER: Bahar F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4166949 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature