Collective motion of bacterial cells in a two-dimensional circular pool

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K13537
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Mathematical physics/Fundamental condensed matter physics
• Research Institution: Chuo University
• Principal Investigator: Wakita Jun-ichi 中央大学, 理工学部, 教授 (30611404)
• Research Collaborator: KATORI Makoto 中央大学, 理工学部, 教授 ; MATSUSHITA Mitsugu 中央大学, 理工学部, 名誉教授 ; YAMAMOTO Ken 琉球大学, 物質地球科学科, 講師 ; NARIZUKA Takuma 中央大学, 理工学部, 助教 ; HONDA Ryojiro 中央大学, 大学院・理工学研究科 ; TSUKAMOTO Shota 中央大学, 大学院・理工学研究科 ; HARADA Shohei 中央大学, 大学院・理工学研究科 ; UMEDA Sora 中央大学, 大学院・理工学研究科 ; NISHIOKA Mizuho 中央大学, 大学院・理工学研究科
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 集団運動 / バクテリア / 枯草菌 / Vicsekモデル

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Recently, various types of collective behavior observed in swarming micro-organisms, marching insects, flocking birds, and walking pedestrians have been studied in the field of physics. The relation between individual behavior and collective behavior has been investigated from the view point of statistical physics. In our studies, we found that Bacillus subtilis cells as a kind of micro-organisms showed six types of collective behavior depending on the reduced cell length (defined as the ratio of cell length to pool diameter) and the cell density in a circular pool which was made on an agar plate surface. Then, we have confirmed that the interaction of a cell with the brim of a pool, the interaction between cells, and the fluctuation in the moving direction of cells are essential to the collective behavior.

Free Research Field

統計力学，生物物理