Flow-Driven Waves and Phase-Locked Self-Organization in Quasi-One-Dimensional Colonies of Dictyostelium discoideum

A. Gholami, O. Steinbock, V. Zykov, and E. Bodenschatz
Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 018103 – Published 6 January 2015
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Abstract

We report experiments on flow-driven waves in a microfluidic channel containing the signaling slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. The observed cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) wave trains developed spontaneously in the presence of flow and propagated with the velocity proportional to the imposed flow velocity. The period of the wave trains was independent of the flow velocity. Perturbations of flow-driven waves via external periodic pulses of the signaling agent cAMP induced 11, 21, 31, and 12 frequency responses, reminiscent of Arnold tongues in forced oscillatory systems. We expect our observations to be generic to active media governed by reaction-diffusion-advection dynamics, where spatially bound autocatalytic processes occur under flow conditions.

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  • Received 14 August 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.018103

© 2015 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

A. Gholami1, O. Steinbock4, V. Zykov1, and E. Bodenschatz1,2,3

  • 1Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Fassberg 17, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
  • 2Institute for Nonlinear Dynamics, University of Göttingen, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany
  • 3Laboratory of Atomic and Solid-State Physics and Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
  • 4Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4390, USA

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Issue

Vol. 114, Iss. 1 — 9 January 2015

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