Vivid biological patterns emerge from even subtle interactions. Similar phenomena are seen in the emergence of order in economic, social and political systems.
-Dr Jim Haseloff, from the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge
Despite bacterial colonies always forming circular shapes as they grow, their cells form internal divisions which are highly asymmetrical and branched. These fractal (self-similar) patterns are due to the physical forces and local instabilities that are a natural part of bacterial cell growth, a new study reveals. The research, published in the scientific journal ACS Synthetic Biology, has important implications for the emerging field of synthetic biology.
Using a combination of genetic, microscopy and computational tools, Cambridge scientists created a system for examining the development of multicellular bacterial populations. After marking bacteria by inserting genes for different coloured proteins, the researchers used high resolution microscopes to examine the growth of bacterial populations in detail. They discovered that as bacteria grow the cell populations naturally form striking and unexpected branching patterns called fractals. The scientists then used large-scale computer models to explore the patterning process.
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Image Credit: Jim Haseloff Lab
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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