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The Chavy-Waddy–Kolokolnikov model with dispersion for describing bacterial colonies is considered. This mathematical model is described by a nonlinear partial differential equation of the fourth order. This equation does not pass the Painlevé test and the Cauchy problem cannot be solved by the inverse scattering transform. Some new properties of the Chavy-Waddy–Kolokolnikov model are studied. Analytical solutions of the equation in traveling wave variables are found taking into account the dispersion coefficient. It is shown that, unlike the model without dispersion, a bacterial cluster can move, which allows us to consider dispersion as some kind of control for bacterial colony. Using numerical modeling, we also demonstrate that the initial concentration of bacteria in the form of a random distribution over time transforms into a periodic wave, followed by a transition to a stationary solitary wave without taking dispersion into account. • The Chavy-Waddy–Kolokolnikov model with dispersion is considered. • Analytical solutions of model are found taking traveling wave reduction. • Results of numerical modeling for bacterial colonies are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of mechanical interactions between cells in the spreading of bacterial populations was investigated in one-dimensional space. A continuum-mechanics approach, comprising cell migration, proliferation, and exclusion processes, was employed to elucidate the dynamics. The consequent nonlinear reaction-diffusion-like equation describes the constitution dynamics of a bacterial population. In this model, bacterial cells were treated as rod-like particles that interact with each other through hard-core repulsion, which introduces the exclusion effect that causes bacterial populations to migrate quickly at high density. The propagation of bacterial density as a traveling wave front over extended times was also analyzed. The analytical and numerical solutions revealed that the front speed was enhanced by the exclusion process, which depended upon the cell-packing fraction. Finally, we qualitatively compared our theoretical results with experimental evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]