Dresden 2011 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 7: Posters: Statistical Physics in Biological Systems
BP 7.22: Poster
Monday, March 14, 2011, 17:15–20:00, P3
How is the timing of cell division influenced by variation in temperature? — •Federico Vazquez1, Abigail Klopper1,2, Maria Begasse2, and Stephan Grill1,2 — 1Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems — 2Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
Accurate timing of early embryogenesis is crucial for the development of an organism, and is subject to sensitive dependence on fluctuations in temperature. We investigate the correlation between timing and temperature using C. elegans as a model organism, which benefits from rapid early cell divisions and an inability to maintain a constant body temperature independent of ambient conditions. We propose a simple model which attributes an observed Arrhenius temperature dependence to the combined dependence of individual chemical reactions involved in the cell cycle. We question whether the experimental results are best explained by just one limiting chemical reaction, as suggested in previous studies, or by a more complex sequence of reactions that function in synchrony. We compare the temperature dependence of C. elegans and C. briggsae, two closely related organisms known to differ in their optimal temperature range.