Dresden 2017 – scientific programme

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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik

CPP 2: Mechanics and Dynamics of 3D Tissues (joint focus session BP/CPP, organized by BP)

CPP 2.10: Talk

Monday, March 20, 2017, 12:45–13:00, SCH A251

Growth Dynamics of Biofilms — •Benedikt Sabass^1,2, Jing Yan², Howard A. Stone², and Ned S. Wingreen² — ¹Forschungszentrum Jülich — ²Princeton University

Bacteria can form tight communities that are called biofilms. Although biofilms are ubiquitous and ecologically important, little is known about the physics of biofilm growth. Here, we focus on rod-shaped V. cholerae bacteria that form hemispherical biofilms when growing on a surface. Using high-resolution microscopy data, we measure cell density, cell orientation, and shape evolution of the biofilm. We quantitatively explain the density and cell orientation inside the biofilm by minimization of elastic energies. The evolution of the whole biofilm shape is governed by apparent viscous relaxation. We find that the shape parameters of biofilms follow rather simple, generic scaling laws.