Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46656, USA.
Phys Biol. 2011 Apr;8(2):026016. doi: 10.1088/1478-3975/8/2/026016. Epub 2011 Apr 6.
In very low density situations where a single myxobacterial cell is isolated from direct contact with other cells, the slime capsule interaction with the substrate or slime tracks on the substrate produce a viscous drag that results in a smooth gliding motion. Viscoelastic interactions of myxobacteria cells in a low-density domain close to the edge of a swarm are studied using a combination of a cell-based three-dimensional computational model and cell-tracking experiments. The model takes into account the flexible nature of Myxococcus xanthus as well as the effects of adhesion between cells arising from the interaction of the capsular polysaccharide covering two cells in contact with each other. New image and dynamic cell curvature analysis algorithms are used to track and measure the change in cell shapes that occur as flexible cells undergo significant bending during collisions resulting in direct calibration of the model parameters. Like aspect-ratio and directional reversals, the flexibility of cells and the adhesive cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions of M. xanthus play an important role in smooth gliding and more efficient swarming.
在非常低密度的情况下，单个粘细菌细胞与其他细胞直接接触而被分离出来，粘液胶囊与基质的相互作用或基质上的粘液轨迹会产生粘性阻力，从而导致光滑的滑动运动。使用基于细胞的三维计算模型和细胞跟踪实验的组合，研究了低密度区域中接近群体边缘的粘细菌细胞的粘弹性相互作用。该模型考虑了黄色粘球菌的柔韧性，以及由于相互作用而产生的细胞间粘附的影响，这种相互作用发生在两个相互接触的细胞的覆盖多糖胶囊之间。使用新的图像和动态细胞曲率分析算法来跟踪和测量细胞形状的变化，这些变化发生在柔性细胞在碰撞过程中发生显著弯曲时，从而直接校准模型参数。与纵横比和方向反转一样，细胞的柔韧性以及 M. xanthus 的细胞间和细胞-基质的粘附相互作用在光滑滑动和更有效的群体运动中起着重要作用。
