Perturbation of Pattern Formation in Dictyostelium Discoideum via Flow and Spatial Heterogeneities

by Torsten Frank Eckstein
Doctoral thesis
Date of Examination:2020-03-26
Date of issue:2020-04-07
Advisor:Dr. Azam Gholami
Referee:Dr. Azam Gholami
Referee:Prof. Dr. Jörg Enderlein
Persistent Address: http://dx.doi.org/10.53846/goediss-7944

 

 

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Abstract

English

In this thesis, we investigate the signalling process of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum (D. discoideum) as a model reaction-diffusion-advection system. Colonies of these cells are an excitable medium that exhibits waves of the chemoattractant cAMP. The cells produce spiral waves and target patterns, which they use to aggregate. In the natural habitat of D. discoideum, the soil, the amoebae are exposed to perturbations by fluid flows induced by rain and by obstacles in the constraint of their environment. Here, we perturb pattern formation by means of advective flows and spatial heterogeneities, in three different studies. The experimental findings are compared to theoretical results, in order to probe the limits of the theory.
Keywords: Biophysics, Dictyostelium discoideum, Pattern formation, Reaction-diffusion-advection
 
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