Individual-based Model of Bacterial Mobility in Biofilms

We propose a new individual-based model of mobile bacteria producing a biofilm. The model is based on the assumption that bacteria have a brownian motion and produce a polymeric substance that reduce their mobility by increasing local viscosity. We define the biofilm as the polymeric substance together with the bacteria it contains. Our simulation results show that bacteria mobility increases the heterogeneity and the complexity of the biofilm (that we evaluate with an entropy measure). The obtained biofilm patterns show good qualitative agreement with experimental observation of biofilm micrographs.