Berlin 2018 – scientific programme

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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 44: Pattern Formation I

DY 44.5: Invited Talk

Wednesday, March 14, 2018, 11:30–12:00, BH-N 334

Spatial heterogeneities shape collective behavior of the signaling amoeboid cells — •Azam Gholami — Max-Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany

Dictyostelium discoideum organism, naturally occurring in forest soil, is an important model system for the study of chemotaxis, cell differentiation, and morphogenesis. We present novel experimental results on pattern formation of signaling Dictyostelium discoideum amoeba in the presence of a periodic array of millimeter-sized pillars. We observe concentric cAMP waves that initiate almost synchronously at the posts and propagate outwards. These waves have higher frequency than the other firing centers and dominate the system dynamics. The cells respond chemotactically to these circular waves and stream towards the pillars, forming periodic Voronoi domains that reflect the periodicity of the underlying lattice. These experiments are crucial to understand the signaling mechanism of Dictyostelium cells that experience external obstacles in its natural habitat. We expect our observations to be generic to other excitable media governed by reaction-diffusion dynamics, where spatial heterogeneities can significantly influence the wave generation process.