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Updated: May 27, 2025

Monitoring Spatial Segregation in Surface Colonizing Microbial Populations
Published on: October 29, 2016
Disentangling the feedback loops driving spatial patterning in microbial communities
Alyssa Henderson1,2, Alessia Del Panta3,4, Olga T Schubert1,2
1Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Abstract:
The properties of multispecies biofilms are determined by how species are arranged in space. How these patterns emerge is a complex and largely unsolved problem. Here, we synthesize the known factors affecting pattern formation, identify the interdependencies and feedback loops coupling them, and discuss approaches to disentangle their effects. Finally, we propose an interdisciplinary research program that could create a predictive understanding of pattern formation in microbial communities.
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