A least microenvironmental uncertainty principle (LEUP) as a generative model of collective cell migration mechanisms.

Collective migration is commonly observed in groups of migrating cells, in the form of swarms or aggregates. Mechanistic models have proven very useful in understanding collective cell migration. Such models, either explicitly consider the forces involved in the interaction and movement of individuals or phenomenologically define rules which mimic the observed behavior of cells. However, mechanisms leading to collective migration are varied and specific to the type of cells involved. Additionally, the precise and complete dynamics of many important chemomechanical factors influencing cell movement, from signalling pathways to substrate sensing, are typically either too complex or largely unknown. The question is how to make quantitative/qualitative predictions of collective behavior without exact mechanistic knowledge. Here we propose the least microenvironmental uncertainty principle (LEUP) that serves as a generative model of collective migration without incorporation of full mechanistic details. Interestingly we show that the famous Vicsek model is a special case of LEUP. Finally, as a proof of concept, we apply the LEUP to quantitatively study ofthe collective behavior of spherical Serratia marcescens bacteria, where the underlying migration mechanisms remain elusive.