UC San Diego bioengineers fill holes in science of cellular self-or...(h-density colonies. At low densitie...)

At low densities, he said, bacteria and other cells communicate "remotely" by sending chemical signals "chemotaxis" but, as they aggregate and form dense communities, direct biomechanical contacts play a bigger and bigger role in how they organize themselves.

"Although previous studies have explored the complex signaling mechanisms in the early stages of biofilm formation," Tsimring said, "the biomechanics of direct cellular contacts have received little attention. We focused, therefore, on the structure and dynamics of a growing two-dimensional colony of non-motile bacteria."

His fellow researcher, Jeff Hasty, at the Institute for Nonlinear Science and UC San Diego's Department of Bioengineering, said the team's work provides a multiscale description of cell colony growth.

"Our results reveal how cell growth and colony expansion trigger the formation of the orientational order in the population," Hasty said, "which, in turn, affects the mechanical and biochemical properties of the colony."

The details of their research, the authors say, helps scientists understand how the local interaction of elementary components leads to collective behavior and the formation of a highly organized system.

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