Dresden 2003 – scientific programme
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DY: Dynamik und Statistische Physik
DY 16: Statistical physics in biological systems II
DY 16.5: Talk
Monday, March 24, 2003, 17:30–17:45, G\"OR/226
Generalized model of myxobacterial rippling — •Uwe Börner1, Andreas Deutsch2, and Markus Bär1 — 1MPI für Physik komplexer Systeme, Dresden — 2Zentrum für Hochleistungsrechnen, TU Dresden
Myxobacteria switch from individual to social behavior when they are starved. During development a variety of multicellular patterns is observed, such as standing wave oscillations of the cell density (rippling).
Recently we have shown how experimental results can be reproduced by means of a simple lattice-based model. Collisions between counter-moving cells initiate reversal. Symmetry breaking is due to a refractory period after reversal.
However, the model does not reproduce some details like the effect of signalling-deficient mutants and the reversal time distribution which shows a double-peak according to latest experiments.
A PDE model by Igoshin et al. is based on the assumption that reversal is triggered by a biological clock with a density-dependent phase velocity. The double-peak in the reversal time distribution is reproduced in the case of travelling waves.
Here we present a generalized discrete model, including a discrete implementation of the internal clock. We investigate the conditions for standing and travelling wave patterns, the influence of cooperativity, the effect of mutants and the presence of the double-peak in the reversal time distribution.