Chuan Xue
Proteus mirabilis is a bacterium living in the gut. It is well known for its ability to swarm over hard surfaces forming concentric ring patterns, and for causing severe urinary tract infections. Recent experimental results show that swimmer cells stream inward toward the inoculation site, and form a number of complex patterns, including radial and spiral streams, rings and traveling trains.
To understand the underlying mechanism of these patterns, we developed a hybrid cell-based model, which incorporates a simplified single cell signal transduction model. By assuming that swimmer cells respond to a chemoattractant that they produce, we predict the formation of radial streams as a result of the modulation of the local attractant concentration by the cells. We furthur predict the spiral streams by incorporating a swimming bias of the cells near the surface of the medium.
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