RUI: Investigation of Group Behaviors and Biofilm Formation of Photosynthetic Bacteria

在这个项目中，PI将研究在生物膜和密集种群中生长的光合细菌的群体行为。光合细菌，是本研究的主题，缺氧光合藻沼泽红球藻和蓝藻集胞藻属PCC 6803，集体进行所有主要的代谢模式，存在于细菌世界。PI将研究不同生长压力对这些细菌模式形成的影响。PI将生长并分析由以不同代谢模式生长的光合细菌形成的生物膜的结构。数学模型将被开发并与实验进行比较，以了解所观察到的生长模式背后的物理原理。还将进行实验，以详细分析在高细胞群体密度下生长的光合细菌的集体运动，并受光合生物膜的启发进行系统修改。该研究将为生物模式形成和集体细菌运动探索一个新的参数空间范围，为理论模型和模拟模型的比较提供实验证据。这项研究将在本科生唯一的机构进行，涉及应用物理学和微生物学的跨学科教师和学生合作。本科生将在这些领域的接口技术培训，将在出版物的共同作者，学生将有望在地方和国家会议上提出这项研究的结果。这项研究的技术和发现将用于生物学和物理学的课堂教学，从这项研究中开发的技术和获得的数据将刺激未来跨学科课程的发展。

In this project, the PI will study the group behavior of photosynthetic bacteria that are growing in biofilms and in dense populations. The photosynthetic bacteria that are the subjects of this study, the anoxygenic phototroph Rhodopseudomonas palustris and the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, collectively carry out all major modes of metabolism that exist in the bacterial world. The PI will study the effects of different growth pressures on the pattern formation of these bacteria. The PI will grow and analyze the architecture of biofilms that are formed by photosynthetic bacteria which are growing in different metabolic modes. Mathematical models will be developed and compared to experiment to understand the physical principles that underlie the observed growth patterns. Experiments will also be performed to analyze in detail the collective motion of photosynthetic bacteria that are growing at high cell population densities, with system modifications inspired by photosynthetic biofilms. The research will explore a new range of parameter space for biologic pattern formation and collective bacterial motion, providing experimental evidence with which theoretical and simulational models may be compared. This research will be undertaken in an undergraduate-only institution and involves interdisciplinary faculty and student collaborations in applied physics and microbiology. Undergraduate students will be trained in techniques at the interface of these fields, will be co-authors on publications, and students will be expected to present results of this research at local and national meetings. The techniques and finding from this research will be used in the classroom in teaching of biology and physics, and the techniques developed and data obtained from this research will stimulate the development of future interdisciplinary courses.