Berlin 2012 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 17: Posters: Physics of Cells

BP 17.1: Poster

Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 17:30–19:30, Poster A

Complex flow patterns of microbial populations growing in constrained geometries — •Hedvika Toncrova and Oskar Hallatschek — Max Planck Research Group for Biophysics and Evolutionary Dynamics, MPI for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany

During biofilm development cells have to push away their surroundings to free space for their own growth and that of their offspring. Although a lot of interesting physics and biology is involved in this complex process, it remains poorly understood.

In an attempt to shed light on the mechanics of biofilm growth, we have measured the forces and flows that microbial populations generate when their growth is limited by space rather than nutrients. Using small populations of yeast cells confined in a microfluidic device we have measured pressures of approximately 0.5 MPa, generated purely by their growth and division. In addition, we have observed that imperfect caging of the cells leads to flows characteristic of granular media just above the jamming transition (succession of elastic and plastic events). We relate our measurements to a recently proposed theory of a homeostatic pressure arising in collective tissue dynamics.