Quantitative Effects of Medium Hardness and Nutrient Availability on the Swarming Motility of Serratia

摘要

We report the first controlled measurements of expansion rate of swarming colo- nies of Serratia liquefaciens under different growth conditions, combined with qualitative observations of the organization of the colony into regions of differ- entiated cell types. Significantly, the results reveal that swarming colonies of S. liquefaciens can have an increasing expansion rte with time. We compare and contrast the expansion rate results with predictions form a recent mathematical model which coupled key hydrodynamical ad biological mechanisms.