Bacterial Patterns

Bacterial Patterns

The formation of patterns in the growth of bacterial colonies has extensively been studied experimentally. Resulting morphologies appear to depend on the growth conditions. They include well known morphologies such as dense branched morphology (DBM) or diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA), but much complex patterns and temporal behaviour can be found.

A large number of studies on pattern formation in bacterial colonies have been performed in Bacillus subtilis and in Proteus mirabilis. Mathematical modeling of colony growth can reproduce the observed morphologies and the effect of environmental changes. Employed models include:

  • Reaction–diffusion system
  • Cellular automata

Read more about Bacterial Patterns:  Colonies of Bacillus Subtilis

Famous quotes containing the word patterns:

    One can describe a landscape in many different words and sentences, but one would not normally cut up a picture of a landscape and rearrange it in different patterns in order to describe it in different ways. Because a photograph is not composed of discrete units strung out in a linear row of meaningful pieces, we do not understand it by looking at one element after another in a set sequence. The photograph is understood in one act of seeing; it is perceived in a gestalt.
    Joshua Meyrowitz, U.S. educator, media critic. “The Blurring of Public and Private Behaviors,” No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior, Oxford University Press (1985)