Cooperative differentiation through clustering in multicellular populations

JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL BIOLOGY

卷:263

Article

Koseska, A.¹  Ullner, E.^2,3,4,8  Volkov, E.⁵  Kurths, J.^6,7  Garcia-Ojalvo, J.³ 

[1] Univ Potsdam, Ctr Dynam Complex Syst, D-14469 Potsdam, Germany

[2] Univ Aberdeen, Inst Complex Syst & Math Biol, King Coll, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, Scotland

[3] Univ Politecn Cataluna, Dept Fis & Engn Nucl, E-08222 Terrassa, Spain

[4] Humboldt Univ, ITB, D-10115 Berlin, Germany

[5] PN Lebedev Phys Inst, Dept Theoret Phys, Moscow 117924, Russia

[6] Humboldt Univ, Inst Phys, D-10099 Berlin, Germany

[7] Potsdam Inst Climate Impact Res, D-14412 Potsdam, Germany

[8] Univ Aberdeen, Inst Med Sci, Aberdeen AB25 2DZ, Scotland

关键词: Multicellular systems;    Clustering;    Collective behavior;    Inhibitory cell-to-cell communication;    Cellular differentiation;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jtbi.2009.11.007

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

The coordinated development of multicellular organisms is driven by intercellular communication. Differentiation into diverse cell types is usually associated with the existence of distinct attractors of gene regulatory networks, but how these attractors; emerge from cell-cell coupling is still an open question. In order to understand and characterize the mechanisms through which coexisting attractors arise in multicellular systems, here we systematically investigate the dynamical behavior of a population of synthetic genetic oscillators coupled by chemical means. Using bifurcation analysis and numerical simulations, we identify various attractors and attempt to deduce from these findings a way to predict the organized collective behavior of growing populations. Our results show that dynamical clustering is a generic property of multicellular systems. We argue that Such clustering might provide a basis for functional differentiation and variability in biological systems. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free