| Fidelity of adaptive phototaxis. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20534560 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Along the evolutionary path from single cells to multicellular organisms with a central nervous system are species of intermediate complexity that move in ways suggesting high-level coordination, yet have none. Instead, organisms of this type possess many autonomous cells endowed with programs that have evolved to achieve concerted responses to environmental stimuli. Here experiment and theory are used to develop a quantitative understanding of how cells of such organisms coordinate to achieve phototaxis, by using the colonial alga Volvox carteri as a model. It is shown that the surface somatic cells act as individuals but are orchestrated by their relative position in the spherical extracellular matrix and their common photoresponse function to achieve colony-level coordination. Analysis of models that range from the minimal to the biologically faithful shows that, because the flagellar beating displays an adaptive down-regulation in response to light, the colony needs to spin around its swimming direction and that the response kinetics and natural spinning frequency of the colony appear to be mutually tuned to give the maximum photoresponse. These models further predict that the phototactic ability decreases dramatically when the colony does not spin at its natural frequency, a result confirmed by phototaxis assays in which colony rotation was slowed by increasing the fluid viscosity. |
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Authors:
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Knut Drescher; Raymond E Goldstein; Idan Tuval |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Date: 2010-06-07 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Volume: 107 ISSN: 1091-6490 ISO Abbreviation: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. Publication Date: 2010 Jun |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-06-23 Completed Date: 2010-07-22 Revised Date: 2010-12-23 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 7505876 Medline TA: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 11171-6 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, United Kingdom. |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Biological Evolution Eukaryota / physiology* Gene Expression Regulation, Plant Kinetics Light* Light Signal Transduction* Models, Biological Models, Statistical Models, Theoretical Photochemistry / methods Plant Physiological Phenomena Time Factors |
| Grant Support | |
ID/Acronym/Agency:
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//Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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