Traveling Waves in Myxobacteria
Angelika Manhart, CIMS

Abstract:
Myxobacteria are soil-living, single-cell organisms that can form complex macroscopic patterns such as aggregates and, most fascinating, opposing traveling waves. The main interest of the project is to derive and analyze macroscopic models starting from a particle-based description. The interactions between bacteria are described by nematic alignment and a density dependent reversal function. Another key feature is the inclusion of an "age" variable, describing the biochemical state of each bacterium, which affects its reversal rate. I will present the derivation, which is based on the use of Generalized Collision Invariants, of the age-structured macroscopic myxobacteria model, as well as numerical and analytical results. To test and validate the model, I will compare its predictions to a number of experimental set-ups.

Joint work with Pierre Degond and Hui Yu