Neste trabalho foi empregada uma metodologia rápida e eficiente para a identificação de metabólitos fitotóxicos produzidos por microrganismos. O isolamento do composto bioativo foi guiado através de bioensaio com Lemna minor. A espectrometria de massas, em especial o LC-MS, foi utilizada para acelerar o processo de identificação do composto ativo. As bactérias estudadas eram simbióticas do fungo fitopatogênico Sclerotium rolfsii. Seus respectivos extratos orgânicos obtidos de culturas em meio BD (batata dextrose) foram submetidos ao ensaio de fitotoxicidade com Lemna minor. Entre cinco bactérias foi selecionada a bactéria Burkholderia sp, a qual apresentou maior atividade no ensaio de fitotoxicidade. O fracionamento por cromatografia em coluna de sílica propiciou a identificação de uma fração ativa. A fitotoxina foi caracterizada como sendo um macropentólido de 20 membros. O composto pertence à classe dos polihidroxibutiratos (PHBs). Sua estrutura foi determinada por RMN 1H, RMN 13C, HMQC, HMBC, IV, ESI-MS/MS e também por comparação com dados da literatura. Esse composto nunca foi isolado de fontes naturais. Foi descrito na literatura uma rota sintética para sua obtenção, porém esta é a primeira vez que sua atividade fitotóxica é relatada. Este trabalho mostra uma nova perspectiva para o emprego de PHBs de baixo peso molecular e apresenta uma proposta de estrutura de composto fitotóxico que pode servir de modelo para a síntese de novos herbicidas. / In this work a quick and efficient methodology was employed for the identification of phytotoxic metabolites produced by microorganisms. The isolation of the bioactive compound was guided by Lemna minor bioassay. Mass spectrometry, especially LC-MS, was used to accelerate the process of identification of the phytotoxin. All bacteria were symbiotic to the phytopatogenic fungi Sclerotium rolfsii.. The bacterium Burkholderia sp was selected among the five bacteria analyzed, due to its greater phytotoxic activity in the bioassay. The phytotoxin was characterized as a 20 member macropentolide. This compound belongs to the polyhidroxybutirates (PHBs) chemical class. Its structure was determined by NMR1H, NMR 13C, HMQC, HMBC, IV, ESI-MS/MS and HRMS. It has never been isolated from natural sources before. Although a synthetic route has been proposed in the literature this is the first time that its phytotoxic activity is reported. This work leads to a new perspective for the application of low molecular weight PHBs and propose a phytotoxic structure that can be used as a model for the synthesis of new herbicide class.

Os agentes infecciosos têm sido considerados iniciadores da desestabilização da placa de ateroma. Este mecanismo pode estar relacionado a uma intensificação do processo inflamatório através da interação dos receptores de membrana CD14 e TLR com os microorganismos. Para avaliar esta hipótese, estudou-se a participação da resposta inflamatória induzida por Chlamydophila pneumoniae (Cp) e Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Mp) em indivíduos com infarto agudo do miocárdio (IAM). Avaliou-se também, a possível associação entre polimorfismos dos genes CD14, TLR2, TLR4 e TNFA e a expressão dos genes IL6, TLR2, TLR4 e TNFA em leucócitos do sangue periférico, assim como a sua associação com o IAM. Para isso, foi realizado um estudo caso-controle constituído por pacientes com IAM e por indivíduos sem evidência de doença cardiovascular (grupo controle). As imunoglobulinas IgM e IgG séricas anti-Cp foram detectadas por imunofluorescência indireta. O DNA dos agentes infecciosos foi detectado no sangue periférico pela PCR em tempo real. A genotipagem dos polimorfismos TNFA -308G>A, IL6 -174G>C, CD14 -260C>T, TLR4 (Asp299Gli e Thr39911e) e TLR2 Arg753Gln e a quantificação relativa da expressão gênica nas células sanguíneas foram analisados pela PCR em tempo real. A porcentagem de positividade para DNA de Cp foi de 18,0% e 8,1% nos grupos IAM e controle (p=0,071), respectivamente, (p=0,071). Foram positivos para DNA de Mp, 5,0% e 11,2% dos indivíduos nos grupos IAM e controle, respectivamente (p=0,318). Sete indivíduos (7,1%) do grupo IAM tiveram títulos anti-Cp IgG positivos (1:512) e 3,9% dos indivíduos do grupo controle (p=0,718). A expressão do TLR4 foi significantemente menor no grupo IAM (0,00113±0,00102) comparado ao grupo controle (0,00144±0,000806; p=0,003). As frequências genotípicas e alelicas dos polimorfismos TNFA -308G>A, CD14 -260C>T, TLR4 (Asp299GIi e Thr39911e) e TLR2 Arg753Gln foram similares entre os grupos estudados (p>0,05) sugerindo que esses polimorfismos não estão associados com IAM nesta amostra populacional. No grupo IAM, houve associação entre o genótipo -260CT+TI CD14 com títulos IgG anti-Cp detectados na diluição 1:16 (p=0,042). Da mesma forma, o alelo A do polimorfismo -308G>A TNF-α foi associado com títulos positivos de IgG anti-Cp na diluição 1:512 (p=0,0058). No grupo IAM, pacientes positivos para DNA de Cp tiveram maiores concentrações de fibrinogênio do que pacientes negativos para este agente infeccioso (541,8±161,5mg/dL e 450,5±196,8mg/dL, respectivamente; p=0.043). Os agentes infecciosos Chlamydophila pneumoniae e Mycoplasma pneumoniae não foram significantemente mais frequentes em indivíduos que tiveram infarto agudo do miocárdio em relação ao grupo controle, porém houve uma associação, no grupo IAM, entre positividade para DNA de C. pneumoniae e concentrações mais elevadas de fibrinogênio. / Atheroma plaque instability has been attributed to the presence of some infectious agents. This mechanism may be related with increased stimulus of inflammatory process through interactions of CD14 and TLR with infectious agents. In this present study, it was evaluated the association of the presence of Chlamydophila pneumoniae and Mycoplasma pneumonia with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). A case-control study was conducted with AMI patients and non-AMI individuais as controls. Immunoglobulin G (lgG) and IgM antibodies anti-Chlamydophila pneumoniae were detected by indirect immunifluorescent assay and the Cp DNA and Mp DNA were detected by real time PCR (RT-PCR) in peripheral blood cells. Using the same method, the individuals were genotyped and the gene expressions of TLR2, TLR4, IL-6 e TNF-α were evaluated by RT-qPCR. In AMI patients, Cp DNA and Mp DNA were positive in 18,0% and 5,0% samples, respectively. In controls, 8,1% and 11,2% were positive for Cp DNA and Mp DNA, respectively. TLR4 expression was significantly decreased in AMI patients (0.00113±0.001 02) compared with controls (0.00144±0.000S06; p=0.003). The frequencies of -308G>A TNF-α., -260C>T CD14, Asp299Gli TLR4, Thr39911e TLR4e Arg753Gln TLR2 SNPs in AMI group were similar to those found in controls. On the other hand, In AMI group, the -260CT+TT CD14 genotype was associated with anti-CP IgG antibody titer of 1/16. Likewise, the rare allele of -308G>A TNF-α was associated with anti-CP IgG antibody titer of 1/16. Cp DNA positive patients had high concentration of fibrinogen when compared with negative patients. In conclusion, Cp DNA and Mp DNA positivity were not associated with AMI.

This investigation has been made to see whether there is a correlation between microorganisms present and the water content and temperature of four Denton County, Texas, sandy soils.

Escherichia coli produtoras de toxina de Shiga (STEC) são patógenos veiculados por alimentos capazes de causar desde diarréia branda até severa e sanguinolenta e evoluir para complicações graves como colite hemorrágica, síndrome hemolítica urêmica e púrpura trombótica trombocitopênica. Esses microrganismos têm sido associados a numerosos surtos e vários casos esporádicos de infecções em todo o mundo devido ao consumo de alimentos contaminados. O sorogrupo O157 desse grupo de microrganismos é considerado o principal devido ao seu envolvimento em surtos de doença por STEC, entretanto, muitos casos vêm ocorrendo em todo o mundo devido a cepas patogênicas de STEC não-O157, como O26, O103, O111 e O145. Os objetivos do presente trabalho foram avaliar a ocorrência de STEC em três pontos da linha de abate de bovinos destinados à exportação e em cortes refrigerados de aves e de bovinos comercializados na região da Grande São Paulo; pesquisar a presença dos fatores de virulência dos isolados através dos genes stx1, stx2, eaeA e ehxA; identificar isolados de E. coli O157:H7 pela pesquisa dos genes uidA, rfbO157 e flicH7; verificar a citotoxicidade em células Vero; pesquisar a atividade enterohemolítica dos isolados; avaliar o perfil de suscetibilidade a antimicrobianos; identificar os sorotipos e avaliar a diversidade genética dos isolados de STEC obtidos. Na linha de abate, 201 animais foram amostrados, obtendo-se 603 amostras que compreenderam 201 amostras provenientes do couro, 201 de carcaça e 201 de meia carcaça. No varejo, foram analisadas 100 amostras de cortes de carne bovina e 100 de cortes de frango. A metodologia utilizada para detecção de E. coli sorogrupo O157 foi a preconizada pela ISO 16654, enquanto para os sorogrupos O26, O103, O111 e O145 foi empregada a metodologia descrita pelo \"Surveillance Group for Diseases and Infections of Animals\" (NRM 006). Os isolados obtidos foram confirmados como STEC pela técnica de PCR. Dos 201 animais amostrados, dois (1,0%) foram positivos para STEC, obtendo-se sete isolados (três do animal número 399 e quatro do animal 401) do couro. Não houve o isolamento do microrganismo nas amostras de carcaça e meia carcaça. Os sete isolados apresentaram o perfil stx2, uidA, eaeA, ehxA, rfbO157 e fliCH7 podendo, assim, ser considerados E. coli enterohemorrágica (EHEC) pertencentes ao sorotipo O157:H7. Na avaliação da atividade enterohemolítica, nenhum dos isolados expressou essa proteína e, com relação ao teste de suscetibilidade antimicrobiana, três (42,8%) isolados apresentaram resistência ao ácido nalidíxico e um (14,3%) ao cloranfenicol. O PFGE revelou que as sete cepas de STEC isoladas apresentaram dois perfis genéticos distintos, com similaridade entre eles de 75,3%. STEC não foi detectada nas amostras de carne bovina e de aves comercializadas no varejo. Estes resultados sugerem que, apesar de presente no couro dos animais, o emprego de medidas sanitárias eficientes ao longo da cadeia de produção da carne bovina até sua comercialização na forma de corte, contribui para que o isolamento de STEC nas etapas posteriores seja raro. / Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are foodborne pathogens that can cause since mild or severe and bloody diarrhea to serious complications, such as hemorrhagic colitis, hemolytic uremic syndrome and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. These microorganisms have been associated with numerous outbreaks and several sporadic cases worldwide due to consumption of contaminated food, especially meat. E. coli O157 is considered the main serogroup involved in disease outbreaks of STEC, however, many cases have been occurred worldwide due to non-O157, such as O26, O103, O111 and O145 strains. The aims of the present study were to determine the occurrence of STEC at three points of cattle slaughter for exporting and in refrigerated beef and poultry cuts commercialized in the Metropolitan area of Sao Paulo, Brazil; identify the genes that code for the virulence factors stx1, stx2, eaeA and ehxA; detect E. coli O157:H7 strains using uidA, rfbO157 and flicH7 genes; verify the citotoxicity in Vero cells and the enterohemolytic activity; evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility profile; identify the STEC serotypes and evaluate the genetic diversity of STEC isolates. A total of 603 samples were collected from 201 animals at slaughter. The samples were taken from hide (201), carcass (201) and half-carcass (201) and were always collected from the breast region. At retail, 100 refrigerated beef cuts and 100 chicken cuts were analyzed. The detection of E. coli O157 samples were conducted according to the ISO methodology (16654) and for detection of O26, O103, O111 e O145 serogroups the Surveillance Group for Diseases and Infections of Animals methodology (NRM 006) was used. The isolates were confirmed as STEC by PCR technique. Among 201 animals sampled, two (1,0%) were positive for STEC, obtaining seven isolates from hide (three from animal number 399 and four from animal number 401). The microrganism was not detect in carcass and half carcass samples. The seven isolates carried stx2, uidA, eaeA, ehxA, rfbO157 and fliCH7 genes, so, they can be considered as enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) O157:H7 serotype. None of the isolates produced the enterohemolytic activity and three (42,8%) isolates showed resistence to nalidixic acid and one (14,3%) to chloramphenicol. PFGE revealed that the seven STEC strains showed two distinct genetic profiles, with 75.3% of similarity between them. STEC was not detected from beef and poultry cuts commercialized at retail. These results suggest that, although present in animals hides, the STEC isolation at later stages of food chain was rare, probably due to effective sanitary measures to control contamination and transmission of this pathogen along the beef production chain until commercialization.

The plant cell wall consists of several layers: cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and pectin. These biopolymers are degraded by many microorganisms. Extracellular enzymes are used for biodegradation by microorganisms. This thesis was focused on studying the impact of cultivation conditions on the production of extracellular enzymes at carboxymethyl cellulase and pectin when a mixed thermophilic culture containing Bacillus and Thermus microorganisms is used. The cultivation was carried out in flasks on a shaking machine with a shaking speed of 99 min-1 at a temperature of 60°C. The monitoring covered cellulolytic and polygalacturonase activities, protein concentration by the Biuret method, concentration of reducing substances by the Somogyi and Nelson methods, and the temperature optimum.

Concentrations of microorganisms and chemical components in groundwater are serious threats for groundwater resources sustainability and contribute to technical and health problems. Recent studies and reports in Gotland revealed huge concerns about water quality in the area. In this master thesis a range of methods such as GIS and statistical analysis including multivariate analysis and non-parametric analysis, have been used in order to identify natural and human factors which affect groundwater contamination. Main focus of the study was on using existing data and available databases in analyses. Consequently, several important factors such as land use, overlaying soil cover, soil thickness, bedrock, elevation, distance to deformation and fracture zones and slope were evaluated considering 8 variables including micro-organisms and chemical components. The results clarified several significant factors which statistically affected the micro-biological and chemical components of groundwater. These relations can be used for development of risk maps which can be used in spatial planning.

Pathogenic bacterial infections are a serious threat to public health, claiming millions of lives every year. In order to contain the spread of infectious diseases sensitive and timely diagnosis of pathogenic bacteria is of significant importance. The rapid detection of low abundance analytes is still challenging in the most common bacteria detection techniques including, culture and colony counting, Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Conventional bacteria detection techniques suffer from limitations such as low sensitivity, cost, long procedural time and requiring complex lab equipment. Thus, there is a critical need for rapid, sensitive and low-cost bacterial detection platform in various applications ranging from water and food safety to medical diagnosis. The quest to overcome these limitations have sparked significant interest in innovative biosensor development, with considerable emphasis on optical techniques. Among optical biosensors, label-free methods are highly desirable over label-based alternatives for eliminating the additional cost and sample processing required for labeling. Also, techniques for whole-cell bacteria detection are preferred to detection of pathogenic molecular components detection due to the requirement for extracting and isolating the desired bacterial components such as nucleic acids or proteins. Overall, label-free whole-cell detection of pathogenic bacteria has a significant advantage of simplicity in sample preparation that translates to time and cost reduction. An additional benefit of detecting whole-cell bacteria without labels, thus in their natural environment, is the ability of monitoring the growth and replication of individual pathogens with a potential application in antimicrobial susceptibility determination. Despite the significant advantages of antibiotics as one of our most powerful tools for fighting infections, their extensive misuse and overuse over the years, have resulted in the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria as the global health crisis of our time. The current gold-standard technique for antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) used in clinics, is culture-based disk diffusion assays. The time-consuming diagnosis method of the common clinical susceptibility testing, which is an inherent limitation of culture-based techniques, have necessitated the need for an alternative AST analysis platform. A clinical diagnosis test that could perform rapid pathogenic bacteria identification and determine its susceptibility to a panel of selected antibiotics, would greatly reduce the hospital stay time for patients with bacterial infection, therefore decreasing mortality and morbidity rate. In addition, it will have a great economic impact on the global healthcare system by advising optimal antibiotic use and maintaining the value of existing drugs. In this dissertation, we describe the design and development of a rapid, sensitive, and multiplexed biosensor platform that can both identify pathogenic bacteria and perform image-based AST on a single reader instrument. The simple and low-cost design of our biosensing platform makes it a perfect candidate as a point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tool in clinical setting. The biosensor presented in this dissertation is based on interferometric enhancement of the visibility of individual biological particles, such as viruses and bacteria, afforded by Single Particle Interferometric Reflectance Imaging Sensing (SP-IRIS), previously developed in our group. The integration of SP-IRIS with microfluidic flow cells provides kinetic measurements capability, by enabling in-liquid imaging of the sensor surface in real-time, therefore making it a promising diagnostic platform. Here, we build upon the SP-IRIS platform and utilize it for pathogenic bacteria identification and image-based AST analysis. To validate our biosensor's functionality, we demonstrate E. coli detection and characterization in end-point and real-time measurement modality through particle detection and tracking analysis of the acquired images from sensor surface. In addition, we perform rapid image-based AST analysis for E. coli bacteria against two antibiotics, ampicillin and gentamicin, by monitoring single cell morphological variations and tracking their growth rate under various antibiotic challenges.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第18770号 / 理博第4028号 / 新制||理||1580(附属図書館) / 31721 / 京都大学大学院理学研究科数学・数理解析専攻 / (主査)教授 山田 道夫, 教授 玉川 安騎男, 准教授 竹広 真一 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T19:59:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Karin Cristina.pdf: 1779954 bytes, checksum: fa7540fc1601cdb177d071d632782f2e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-10-05 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Chemical fertilizers and pesticides have become an important part of modern agriculture. The use of these chemical brought great benefits but also created new problems, such as disposal after use, persistence over time and accumulation in the environment, resulting significant bad consequences to public health and adverse impact on ecosystems. Maize culture deserves attention because the large amount of herbicides used. Mesotrione is a new selective herbicide developed for use in maize culture. Due it has not been used for a long time, there is little information available on the ecotoxicological risk. Only two mesotrione-degrading strains, from soil and water, both the genus Bacillus, were isolated and identified. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize endophytic and epiphytic bacterial strains collected from maize leaves, able to biodegrade the herbicide mesotrione. Samples were collected in maize planting variety Penta without treatment with mesotrione and maize planting variety DKB 234 treated with mesotrione, at Fazenda Escola Capão da Onça, Ponta Grossa, PR. The microorganisms were isolated and cultured in mineral medium supplemented with mesotrione as sole carbon source. Of the twenty samples were isolated 347 tolerant and/or mesotrione-degrading strains. These were selected in increasing concentrations of the herbicide and had their degradation capability evalueted by VIS spectrophotometry. Ten strains were able to grow in the presence of high concentrations of mesotrione. Of these, 9 strains (7 epiphytic and 2 endophytic) were isolated from maize variety Penta without treatment with mesotrione and only 1 epiphytic strain was isolated from maize variety DKB 234 treated with mesotrione. Five strains had the ability to degrade the herbicide confirmed. One strain was identified as Acinetobacter baumanii and other as Micrococcus luteus. Just M. luteus is an endophytic strain, the others are maize epiphytics. Four mesotrione-degrading strains were isolated from maize untreated with mesotrione, only one strain of Gram-negative bacilli non fermenter was isolated from maize treated with the herbicide. The growth in high concentration of the strains that didn’t have the mesotrione degradation capability detected by spectrophotometry indicates the possibility of these strains degrade this herbicide when in association with other microorganisms consortia in the environment. The real quantitative capability of mesotrione degradation by the strains recorded by spectrophotometry may be underestimated due to the accumulation of degradation products which have the same wavelength as the mesotrione. This study reports the first isolation and characterization of mesotrione degrading strains endophytic and epiphytic from maize. / Os adubos químicos e pesticidas tornaram-se parte integral da agricultura moderna. O emprego destas substâncias químicas trouxe grandes vantagens, mas também criou novos problemas, como a eliminação após o uso, a persistência ao longo do tempo e o acúmulo no ambiente, acarretando conseqüências adversas consideráveis à saúde pública e um impacto negativo nos ecossistemas. A cultura do milho merece atenção pela elevada quantidade de herbicidas usados. O mesotrione é um novo herbicida seletivo utilizado na cultura do milho. Devido sua introdução recente, há pouca informação referente ao risco ecotoxicológico do mesotrione e de seus produtos de degradação. Apenas duas linhagens bacterianas do gênero Bacillus, degradadoras do mesotrione, provenientes do solo e da água, já foram isoladas e identificadas. O objetivo deste estudo foi isolar e caracterizar linhagens bacterianas endofíticas e epifíticas, isoladas das folhas de milho, com capacidade de biodegradar o herbicida mesotrione. As coletas foram realizadas em plantação de milho variedade Penta sem tratamento com o herbicida mesotrione e em plantação de milho variedade DKB 234 com tratamento com o herbicida, na Fazenda Escola Capão da Onça, Ponta Grossa, PR. Os microrganismos foram isolados e cultivados em meio mineral com mesotrione como única fonte de carbono. Das vinte coletas foram isoladas 347 linhagens bacterianas tolerantes e/ou degradadoras. Estas foram selecionadas em concentrações crescentes do herbicida e tiveram sua capacidade de degradação investigada por espectrofotometria visível. Dez linhagens capazes de crescer na presença de altas concentrações do herbicida foram avaliadas. Destas, 9 linhagens (7 epifíticas e 2 endofíticas) foram isoladas de milho variedade Penta sem tratamento com o herbicida mesotrione e 1 foi isolada de milho variedade DKB 234 com tratamento com mesotrione. Cinco linhagens tiveram a capacidade de degradar o herbicida comprovada. Uma linhagem foi identificada como Acinetobacter baumannii e outra como Micrococcus luteus. Somente Micrococcus luteus é uma linhagem endofítica, sendo as demais epifíticas do milho. Quatro linhagens degradadoras foram isoladas de plantação de milho sem tratamento prévio com mesotrione; apenas uma linhagem de bacilo Gram-negativo não fermentador foi isolada de plantação sob tratamento com o herbicida. O crescimento, em alta concentração, das linhagens que não tiveram a capacidade de degradação do mesotrione detectada pela espectrofotometria indica a possibilidade destas linhagens participarem da degradação deste herbicida quando associadas com outros microrganismos em consórcios no ambiente. A capacidade quantitativa real de degradação do mesotrione pelas linhagens investigadas registrada pela espectrofotometria pode estar subestimada devido ao acúmulo dos produtos de degradação que possuem o mesmo comprimento de onda no espectro de absorção que a molécula de mesotrione. Este trabalho é o primeiro relato de isolamento de linhagens bacterianas degradadoras do herbicida mesotrione epifíticas e endofíticas de milho.

Microorganisms have evolved in a low Reynolds number environment and have adapted their behaviour to its viscosity. Here, we consider some features of behaviour observed in microorganisms and use hydrodynamic models to show that these behaviours emerge from physical interactions, including hydrodynamic friction, hydrodynamic interactions and mechanical constraints. Swimming behaviour is affected by surfaces and observations of Vibrio cholerae show that it swims near a surface with two distinct motility modes. We develop a model which shows that friction between pili and the surface gives the two motility modes. The model is extended to study the behaviour of bacteria which are partially attached to a surface. Observations of Shewanella constrained by a surface show several different behaviours. The model shows that different degrees of surface constraint lead to different types of behaviour; the flexibility of the flagellar hook and the torque exerted by the flagellar motor also cause different behaviours. Near surface behaviour is important for understanding the initial stages of biofilm formation. Chlamydomonas swims using synchronous beating of its two flagella. A simple model of Chlamydomonas is developed to study motility and synchronisation. This model shows that the stability of synchronisation is sensitive to the beat pattern. Run-and-tumble behaviour emerges when we include intrinsic noise, without the need for biochemical signalling. The model is also used to show how observed responses of the flagella to light stimuli produce phototaxis. Finally we study hydrodynamic synchronisation of many cilia and consider the stability of metachronal waves in arrays of hydrodynamically coupled cilia. This thesis shows that physical interactions are responsible for many behavioural features and that physical models provide a useful technique for exploring open questions in biology.