Multicellular organization by a non-diffusible signal: Mathematical and experimental analysis of morphogenetic cell movements in myxobacteria

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Andreas Deutsch
• Subject Area: Bioinformatics and Theoretical Biology
• Term: from 2005 to 2007
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5451795

One of the essential problems in developmental biology is how spatial patterns of differentiated cells (e.g. tissues) can arise from an initially uniform mass of identical cells. Here, a unique group of biologists, mathematicians and physicists addresses this question using multicellular development in Myxococcus xanthus as a model system. The working group will apply a highly interdisciplinary approach combining biological experiments with quantitative mathematical modeling and simulation. In response to starvation, cells of the gliding bacterium M. xanthus initiate a multicellular developmental program that leads to streaming and aggregation patterns and culminates in the formation of spore-filled fruiting bodies. The non-diffusible C-signal plays a key role in inducing and choreographing the aggregation and sporulation processes. The main objective of this proposal is the construction and analysis of a quantitative mathematical model for the development of a three-dimensional fruiting body starting from individual cells. The mathematical model will allow us to investigate, whether the cell surface-associated C-signal is sufficient for explaining the multicellular organization of myxobacteria or if additional signaling mechanisms are required (e.g. a diffusive signaling mechanism, which plays a key role in the multicellular organization of the slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum). Model predictions will be validated in experiments with developmental mutants in which C-signaling is deficient. This project promises new insights into pattern formation mechanisms in biological systems and a better understanding of how non-diffusible morphogens may induce and organize morphogenetic cell movements.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Persons: Professor Dr. Markus Bär; Professorin Dr. Lotte Sogaard-Andersen