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Project

Chemical regulation of aggregation and pattern formation of gliding bacteria

04/2014- 09/2018

The multicellular aggregation of microorganisms like bacteria and amoebae is largely controlled by the interplay of physical properties like cell shapte and motility with intracellular processes and the exchange of biochemical signals between the cells. The aim of the project is to develop realistic models for aggregation and pattern formation in myxobacteria at the microscopic (= agent-based models with Langevin dynamics) and macroscopic level (continuum equations for cell densities of reaction-diffusion-advection type). The models shall address basic physical properties (self-propulsion, volume exclusion and nematic alignment) and biochemically regulated internal clocks and the resulting reversal rates of individual cells.

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