| Consumption, supply and transport: self-organization without direct communication. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 11539395 Owner: NASA Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Swimming bacteria of the species Bacillus subtilis require and consume oxygen. In static liquid cultures the cells' swimming behaviour leads them to accumulate up oxygen concentration gradients generated by consumption and supply. Since the density of bacterial cells exceeds that of the fluid in which they live, fluid regions where cells have accumulated are denser than depleted regions. These density variations cause convection. The fluid motion is dynamically maintained by the swimming of the cells toward regions of attraction: the air-fluid interface and the fluctuating advecting attractors, gradients of oxygen concentration that are embedded in the convecting fluid. Because of the fluid dynamical conservation laws, these complex physical and biological factors generate patterns ordered over distances > 10000 bacterial cell diameters. The convection enhances long-range transport and mixing of oxygen, cells and extracellular products by orders of magnitude. Thus, through the interplay of physical and biological factors, a population of undifferentiated selfish cells creates functional dynamic patterns. Populations of bacteria that have organised themselves into regularly patterned regions of vigorous convection and varying cell concentration interact with their environment as if they were one purposeful, coherent multicellular individual. The mathematical and experimental ingredients of these remarkable phenomena are presented here. |
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Authors:
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J O Kessler |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Mathematics and computers in simulation Volume: 40 ISSN: 0378-4754 ISO Abbreviation: Math Comput Simul Publication Date: 1996 Apr |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 1997-07-22 Completed Date: 1997-07-22 Revised Date: 2008-11-21 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 100971341 Medline TA: Math Comput Simul Country: NETHERLANDS |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 359-70 Citation Subset: S |
Affiliation:
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Physics Department, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, USA. kessler@galileo.physics.arizona.edu |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Bacillus subtilis
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physiology* Biophysical Phenomena Biophysics Convection* Gravitation Locomotion / physiology* Mathematics Models, Biological Oxygen Consumption / physiology* |
| Investigator | |
Investigator/Affiliation:
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J O Kessler / U AZ, Tucson |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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