Bacterial motility via diffusion adaptation

Bacteria forage by moving towards nutrient sources in a process known as chemotaxis. The bacteria follow gradient variations by tumbling or moving in straight lines. Both modes of locomotion are affected by Brownian motion. Bacteria are also capable of interactions through chemical signaling. As the bacteria swim towards nutrients, they emit chemicals that can be sensed by their neighboring bacteria and used to adjust the direction of motion. In this paper, we propose schemes for cooperation and diffusion of information [1]–[7] and study their effect on bacteria motility. Because bacteria are limited in their abilities, we restrict the sharing of information to binary choices (such as whether to run or tumble). Simulation results suggest that cooperation among bacteria is critical for effective foraging to improve their decisions of movement.