Self-similar dynamics of bacterial chemotaxis

Abstract

Colonies of bacteria grown on thin agar plate exhibit fractal patterns as a result of adaptation to their environments. The bacterial colony pattern formation is regulated crucially by chemotaxis, the movement of cells along a chemical concentration gradient. Here, the dynamics of pattern formation in a bacterial colony is investigated theoretically through a continuum model that considers chemotaxis. In the case of the gradient sensed by the bacterium is nearly uniform, the bacterial colony patterns are self-similar, which means they look the same at every scale. The scaling law of the bacterial colony growth has been revealed explicitly. Chemotaxis biases the movement of the bacterial population in colony to trend toward the chemical attractant. Moreover, the bacterial colonies evolve for a long time as the traveling wave with a sharp front.