Order, intermittency, and pressure fluctuations in a system of proliferating rods.

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys

Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Distrito Federal 04510, México.

Published: July 2013

AI Article Synopsis

  • Nonmotile elongated bacteria in 2D microchannels can move collectively and form organized layers when they grow and divide.
  • Computer simulations reveal that rod-shaped bacteria with an aspect ratio greater than 3 achieve nearly perfect alignment at low friction, while higher frictions cause fluctuations in their order.
  • Pressure changes in the channels are linked to the bacteria's organization and exhibit unique patterns different from other systems, suggesting key insights into how tissues might develop.

Article Abstract

Nonmotile elongated bacteria confined in two-dimensional open microchannels can exhibit collective motion and form dense monolayers with nematic order if the cells proliferate, i.e., grow and divide. Using soft molecular dynamics simulations of a system of rods interacting through short range mechanical forces, we study the effects of the cell growth rate, the cell aspect ratio, and the sliding friction on nematic ordering and on pressure fluctuations in confined environments. Our results indicate that rods with aspect ratios >3.0 reach quasiperfect nematic states at low sliding friction. At higher frictions, the global nematic order parameter shows intermittent fluctuations due to sudden losses of order and the time intervals between these bursts are power-law distributed. The pressure transverse to the channel axis can vary abruptly in time and shows hysteresis due to lateral crowding effects. The longitudinal pressure field is on average correlated to nematic order, but it is locally very heterogeneous and its distribution follows an inverse power law, in sharp contrast with nonactive granular systems. We discuss some implications of these findings for tissue growth.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.88.012715DOI Listing

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