Myxobacteria Motility: a novel 3D model of rippling behaviour in Myxococcus xanthus

Bacterial populations provide interesting examples of how relatively simple signalling mechanisms can result in complex behaviour of the colony. A well studied example of this phenomenon can be found in myxobacteria; cells can coordinate themselves to form intricate rippling patterns and fruiting bodies using localised signalling. Our work attempts to understand and model this emergent behaviour. We developed an off-lattice Monte Carlo simulation of ripple formation using a using a software framework we have created and show how rippling is a consequence of the combined effect of cell biochemistry and cell physics.