Interfacial Morphodynamics of Proliferating Microbial Communities

In microbial communities, various cell types often coexist by occupying distinct spatial domains. What determines the shape of the interface between such domains—which, in turn, influences the interactions between cells and overall community function? Here, we address this question by developing a c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alejandro Martínez-Calvo, Carolina Trenado-Yuste, Hyunseok Lee, Jeff Gore, Ned S. Wingreen, Sujit S. Datta
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2025-01-01
Series:Physical Review X
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.15.011016
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832582551979425792
author Alejandro Martínez-Calvo
Carolina Trenado-Yuste
Hyunseok Lee
Jeff Gore
Ned S. Wingreen
Sujit S. Datta
author_facet Alejandro Martínez-Calvo
Carolina Trenado-Yuste
Hyunseok Lee
Jeff Gore
Ned S. Wingreen
Sujit S. Datta
author_sort Alejandro Martínez-Calvo
collection DOAJ
description In microbial communities, various cell types often coexist by occupying distinct spatial domains. What determines the shape of the interface between such domains—which, in turn, influences the interactions between cells and overall community function? Here, we address this question by developing a continuum model of a 2D spatially structured microbial community with two distinct cell types. We find that, depending on the balance of the different cell proliferation rates and substrate friction coefficients, the interface between domains is either stable and smooth or unstable and develops fingerlike protrusions. We establish quantitative principles describing when these different interfacial behaviors arise and find good agreement with both the results of previous experimental reports as well as new experiments performed here. Our work, thus, helps to provide a biophysical basis for understanding the interfacial morphodynamics of proliferating microbial communities as well as a broader range of proliferating active systems.
format Article
id doaj-art-e6ceb0acc5c345df82bec9d38aa6d951
institution Kabale University
issn 2160-3308
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher American Physical Society
record_format Article
series Physical Review X
spelling doaj-art-e6ceb0acc5c345df82bec9d38aa6d9512025-01-29T16:52:29ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review X2160-33082025-01-0115101101610.1103/PhysRevX.15.011016Interfacial Morphodynamics of Proliferating Microbial CommunitiesAlejandro Martínez-CalvoCarolina Trenado-YusteHyunseok LeeJeff GoreNed S. WingreenSujit S. DattaIn microbial communities, various cell types often coexist by occupying distinct spatial domains. What determines the shape of the interface between such domains—which, in turn, influences the interactions between cells and overall community function? Here, we address this question by developing a continuum model of a 2D spatially structured microbial community with two distinct cell types. We find that, depending on the balance of the different cell proliferation rates and substrate friction coefficients, the interface between domains is either stable and smooth or unstable and develops fingerlike protrusions. We establish quantitative principles describing when these different interfacial behaviors arise and find good agreement with both the results of previous experimental reports as well as new experiments performed here. Our work, thus, helps to provide a biophysical basis for understanding the interfacial morphodynamics of proliferating microbial communities as well as a broader range of proliferating active systems.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.15.011016
spellingShingle Alejandro Martínez-Calvo
Carolina Trenado-Yuste
Hyunseok Lee
Jeff Gore
Ned S. Wingreen
Sujit S. Datta
Interfacial Morphodynamics of Proliferating Microbial Communities
Physical Review X
title Interfacial Morphodynamics of Proliferating Microbial Communities
title_full Interfacial Morphodynamics of Proliferating Microbial Communities
title_fullStr Interfacial Morphodynamics of Proliferating Microbial Communities
title_full_unstemmed Interfacial Morphodynamics of Proliferating Microbial Communities
title_short Interfacial Morphodynamics of Proliferating Microbial Communities
title_sort interfacial morphodynamics of proliferating microbial communities
url http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.15.011016
work_keys_str_mv AT alejandromartinezcalvo interfacialmorphodynamicsofproliferatingmicrobialcommunities
AT carolinatrenadoyuste interfacialmorphodynamicsofproliferatingmicrobialcommunities
AT hyunseoklee interfacialmorphodynamicsofproliferatingmicrobialcommunities
AT jeffgore interfacialmorphodynamicsofproliferatingmicrobialcommunities
AT nedswingreen interfacialmorphodynamicsofproliferatingmicrobialcommunities
AT sujitsdatta interfacialmorphodynamicsofproliferatingmicrobialcommunities