Rippling patterns in aggregates of myxobacteria arise from cell-cell collisions

Abstract

Experiments with myxobacterial aggregates reveal standing waves called rippling patterns. Here, these structures are modelled with a simple discrete model based on the interplay between migration and collisions of cells. Head-to-head collisions of cells result in cell reversals. To correctly reproduce the rippling patterns, a refractory phase after each cell reversal has to be assumed, during which further reversal is prohibited. The duration of this phase determines the wavelength and period of the ripple patterns as well as the reversal frequency of single cells.

4 pages 4 figures

References in corpus (2)

• Novel type of phase transition in a system of self-driven particles
• Mean-field analysis of a dynamical phase transition in a cellular automaton model for collective motion

Cited by in corpus (15)

• Active Brownian Particles. From Individual to Collective Stochastic Dynamics
• Non-equilibrium clustering of self-propelled rods
• Self-Propelled Rods: Insights and Perspectives for Active Matter
• Tuning the motility and directionality of self-propelled colloids
• Active Brownian Motion with Directional Reversals
• Mesoscale pattern formation of self-propelled rods with velocity reversal
• Lattice gas cellular automata model for rippling and aggregation in myxobacteria
• A mechanistic verification of the competitive exclusion principle
• Propagating Waves in a Monolayer of Gas-Fluidized Rods
• A continuum model for nematic alignment of self-propelled particles
• Wavelength selection of rippling patterns in myxobacteria
• Wavenumber selection in coupled transport equations
• An age-structured continuum model for myxobacteria
• Individual particle persistence antagonizes global ordering in populations of nematically-aligning self-propelled particles
• Hopf Bifurcation in Structural Population Models