SubCellular model to study Bacterial - Fungal interaction

Bacteria and complex fungal networks can interact beneficially with one another and create an environmental niche. The fungus Laccaria bicolor synthesizes trehalose which is a nutrient for the chemotactic bacteria Psuedomonas fluorescens. Trehalose can serve as an energy source to allow the bacteria to move and explore new environments using their flagella in the liquid medium surrounding the fungal network. P.flourescens provides L. Bicolor with thiamine that promotes fungal growth thereby increasing fungal mass. In this work, we focus on interactions between P.flourescens and the fungi L.bicolor. We used Sub-Cellular Element model to describe and simulate the motion of bacteria and the interactions between bacteria and the environment. The movement mechanics of the bacteria, including run-reverse, flick, and the frequency of reversals motion, are all influenced by a gradient of a chemoattractant. Each bacteria moves in a random direction after each reversal occurs. But the presence of fungal-secreted chemoattractants, especially from the tips of the hyphae, acts to direct the interaction between bacteria and fungi network. In this study, we observed that following the hyphae increases the efficiency of bacteria movement and aggregation toward the source of the chemoattractant.