Berlin 2005 – scientific programme

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AKB: Biologische Physik

AKB 75: Nonlinear Phenomena and Pattern Formation

AKB 75.3: Talk

Wednesday, March 9, 2005, 11:00–11:15, TU H2013

Symmetry-breaking and axis establishment in Hydra — •Jordi Soriano¹, Sten Rüdiger², Pramod Pullarkat¹, Michael Kücken², Ernesto Nicola², Timo Mai¹ und Albrecht Ott¹ — ¹Experimentalphysik I, Universität Bayreuth. Universitätstraße 30, D-95448 Bayreuth, Deutschland — ²Theoretische Physik II. Universität Bayreuth. Universitätstraße 30, D-95448 Bayreuth, Deutschland

Hydra may regenerate from a small piece of tissue or from an aggregate of dissociated cells. During the regeneration process the cells first form a hollow sphere made of a cell bi-layer that experiences a series of changes during which the isotropy is broken and a new axis is constituted. We have studied in detail the symmetry-breaking process from an experimental point of view, and focused on the morphogenic and genetic changes that the Hydra-ball experiences during regeneration. We have found that morphogenic oscillations are essential for symmetry-breaking, and that they may trigger the key genetic mechanisms responsible for the constitution and maintenance of the axis and the subsequent development. We also propose a new reaction-diffusion model to describe the symmetry-breaking process.