Intercellular communication through ultra-fast hydrodynamic trigger waves
10 hours ago
- #biophysics
- #cellular communication
- #hydrodynamics
- Discovery of 'hydrodynamic trigger waves' in Spirostomum ambiguum communities, propagating hundreds of times faster than their swimming speed.
- Spirostomum can contract its body by 60% within milliseconds, generating long-ranged vortex flows at intermediate Reynolds numbers.
- A high-throughput suction–flow device was developed to measure sensitivity to hydrodynamic signals in receiver cells.
- The study reveals a phase transition requiring a critical colony density for sustaining collective communication.
- Hydrodynamic trigger waves could help organize communities over large distances and influence behavior through gene expression.
- Synchronized contractions may facilitate repulsion of predators or immobilization of prey by releasing toxins.