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Updated: May 5, 2026

Time-lapse Imaging of Bacterial Swarms and the Collective Stress Response
Published on: May 23, 2020
Loss of collective motion in swarming bacteria undergoing stress
Shengtao Lu1, Wuguo Bi, Fang Liu
1Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, 637371 Singapore.
Abstract:
The collective motion of Bacillus subtilis in the presence of a photosensitizer is disrupted by reactive oxygen species when exposed to light of sufficient dosages and is partially recovered when light irradiation is suspended. The transition from a highly collective to a more random motion is modeled using an improved self-propelled model with alignment rule. The increment in noise level describes the enhanced uncertainty in the motion of swarming bacteria under stress as observed experimentally.
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