The myxobacteria are Gram-negative organisms (0.5 x 5-7 mm rods) that are capable of multicellular, social behavior. In the presence of nutrients, swarms of myxobacteria feed cooperatively. If the food supply is limited, the myxobacteria form aggregates called “fruiting bodies.”

COUPLING CELL MOVEMENT TO MULTICELLULAR DEVELOPMENT IN MYXOBACTERIA by Dale Kaiser

Nature Reviews Microbiology 1, 45-54 (2003)

At any instant, only one end secretes slime and only one end assembles pili. One end cannot do both at the same time.

S-motility The pilus extends ahead of a cell, adheres to the fibrils on the cells ahead of it and then retracts, pulling the leading end of the piliated cell forward. A-motility Cell is pushed by slime secretion.

Goals

General:

Get the most information from the image

Specific:

• Track individual cells
• Make cell density more obvious
• Show the boundaries of expanding front
• Get rid of noise

MATLAB example

Original experimental movie	Tracked