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Published on: November 28, 2019
Scale-invariant correlations in dynamic bacterial clusters
Xiao Chen1, Xu Dong, Avraham Be'er
1Department of Physics and Institute of Natural Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China.
Physical Review Letters
|May 1, 2012
Summary
In Bacillus subtilis colonies, bacteria move collectively, forming dynamic clusters. Velocity and orientation fluctuations within these clusters show scale-invariant spatial correlations, similar to bird flocks.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Physics
- Biophysics
Background:
- Motile bacteria like Bacillus subtilis exhibit collective motion.
- This collective behavior forms dynamic clusters, analogous to polarized systems like bird flocks and fish schools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate spatial correlations of velocity and orientation fluctuations within bacterial clusters.
- To understand the scale-invariant properties of collective motion in Bacillus subtilis.
Main Methods:
- Experimental study of Bacillus subtilis colonies.
- Analysis of velocity and orientation fluctuations within bacterial clusters.
- Measurement of spatial correlation functions.
Main Results:
- Correlation length was found to be approximately 30% of the cluster size across various densities and sizes.
- Rescaled correlation functions collapsed onto a master curve.
- Demonstrated scale-invariant correlations of velocity and orientation fluctuations.
Conclusions:
- Bacterial clusters exhibit scale-invariant properties in their collective motion.
- Spatial correlations of fluctuations are a key characteristic of dynamic bacterial clusters.
- Findings contribute to understanding emergent behavior in biological systems.
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