Estimating the Role of Active Matter and Population Genetic Dynamics in Enhancing Antibiotic Resistance in Expanding Bacterial Colonies via Lattice Simulations

The emergence of antibiotic resistance in bacterial cells remains a major issue in medical fields, with new strains resistant to nearly all available antibiotic medication frequently emerging. One important issue is the colonization of surfaces by species which exhibit collective motion known as swarming. Such systems have been observed to benefit from this collective motion by gaining enhanced antibiotic resistance through mechanisms such as segregation and necrosignaling from dead bacterial cells. In this work, we employ 2D lattice models combing population genetics and hydrodynamic interactions to study the effects of active matter dynamics on genetic structure in bacterial colonies, as well as statistically characterize the role that mixing, genetic drift, cell motility, and mutation have on the emergence of antibiotic resistance in active bacterial populations. By understanding how population structure is affected by active matter dynamics, we can understand the benefits of cell motility in swarms on adaptation and evolution.