Biofilm growth of exoelectrogens (A20)

• Subject Area: Statistical Physics, Nonlinear Dynamics, Complex Systems, Soft and Fluid Matter, Biological Physics
• Term: from 2015 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 178321814

Filamentous cyanobacteria are highly relevant in global ecology, ranging from our fossil oil record to rampant and frequently toxic algal blooms in freshwater lakes. They form multi-cellular trichomes in which a few tens to several hundreds of cells are linearly stacked. In contact with solid surfaces, several genera exhibit gliding motility, propelling themselves along the filament contour. This project aims at understanding the emergent collective behavior of such ‘active polymers’, based on experiments in both idealized (2D) and realistic (3D/porous) environments. We expect that our findings will have implications also in Bioreactor technology, for which filamentous cyanobacteria have recently gained great attention.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 937: Collective Behaviour of Soft and Biological Matter
• Applicant Institution: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
• Co-Applicant Institution: Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation (MPIDS)
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Stephan Herminghaus; Marco Mazza, Ph.D., until 12/2018