Research in project area C is focused on cell motility and pattern formation in active biological media. In particular, we concentrate on (i) bacterial motility under the influence of chemotactic as well as contact-dependent chemical signaling and (ii) motility and pattern formation in systems, where reaction-diffusion dynamics is coupled to mechanical stresses and advection. All projects consider processes at the cellular level. Model descriptions include both Langevin-type models for active motion and continuum descriptions and aim at a quantitative understanding. While the experimental project C.1 and the theoretical project C.2 are tightly linked together, also the other theoretical projects (C.3 – C.5) are closely related to experimental observations and build on well-established collaborations with experimental groups.

In detail, the projects of area C are:

• C.1: From trajectories to an understanding of chemotactic response: experiments
• C.2: From trajectories to an understanding of chemotactic response: theory
• C.3: Spatio-temporal pattern formation in reaction-diffusion-advection-mechanics (RDAM) systems
• C.4: Chemical regulation of aggregation and pattern formation of gliding bacteria
• C.5: Cell morpho-dynamics driven by actin polymerization