Not-so-random walks: two tales of how and why bacteria get to where they do

Date

Jan 15, 2018

Time

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Speaker

Shashi Thutupalli

Affiliation

NCBS, Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India

Language

en

Main Topic

Biologie

Other Topics

Biologie

Host

Marino Zerial

Description

The ability of individuals and their collectives to position themselves in space and time is a key driver of ecology. Here, I will present two experiments of the spatiotemporal redistribution of bacteria and its consequences on their multicellularity and population dynamics. First, I will describe how the soil bacteria Myxococcus Xanthus regulate their motility, in respose to starvation, and form multicellular aggregates via a non-equilibrium phase separation like process. Second, I describe a predator-prey (worm-bacteria) system in which immotile bacterial cells hitchhike on predatory worms and disperse to extremely long ranges. This dispersal has interesting consequences for the spread and growth of the bacteria (prey) and in turn the dynamics of the worm (predator) population.

Last modified: Jan 16, 2018, 8:46:34 AM