Self-Driven Phase Transitions Drive Myxococcus xanthus Fruiting Body Formation.

Publication Year
2019

Type

Journal Article
Abstract

Combining high-resolution single cell tracking experiments with numerical simulations, we show that starvation-induced fruiting body formation in Myxococcus xanthus is a phase separation driven by cells that tune their motility over time. The phase separation can be understood in terms of cell density and a dimensionless Péclet number that captures cell motility through speed and reversal frequency. Our work suggests that M. xanthus takes advantage of a self-driven nonequilibrium phase transition that can be controlled at the single cell level.

Journal
Phys Rev Lett
Volume
122
Issue
24
Pages
248102
Date Published
2019 Jun 21
ISSN Number
1079-7114
Alternate Journal
Phys Rev Lett
PMID
31322369