Development of a multicellular organism requires the coordination of component cells. Temporal and positional information can be transmitted as waves that pass over these cells. In order to address human illness that is related to errors in development, the developmental process must be understood. Complex organisms are not amenable to this type of study, as their development is interrupted by intrusive experimental conditions. A simpler organism that exhibits this behavior is better suited for this type of study. Populations of the bacteria Myxococcus xanthus self-organizes into structures called fruiting bodies. During this process, the bacteria exhibit a form of emergent behavior, called rippling, in which opposing sets of traveling waves appear to move across the surface of a colony. Genes that are necessary for rippling will be linked to the behavior that occurs during rippling. Individual mutant bacteria will be observed in rippling populations by means of fluorescent proteins and time lapse video microscopy. A search will be made for genes that act to align the cells prior to the initiation of rippling. These data will be used to design, cellular automata that stimulate rippling behavior to determine if known M. xanthus genetics is sufficient to explain rippling and, if not, what processes are still missing.
