Reactive/Non-cooperative individuals advance Population's Synchronization: Modeling of Dictyostelium discoideum Concerted Signaling during Aggregation Phase

Abstract

Orchestrated chemical signaling of single cells sounds to be a linchpin of emerging organization and multicellular life form. The social amoeba Dictiostelium discoiudium is a well-studied model organism to explore overall pictures of grouped behavior in developmental biology. The chemical waves secreted by aggregating Dictiostelium is a superb example of pattern formation. The waves are either circular or spiral in shape, according to the incremental population density of a self-aggregating community of individuals. Here, we revisit the spatiotemporal patterns that appear in an excitable medium due to synchronization of randomly firing individuals, but with a more parsimonies attitude. According to our model, a fraction of these individuals is refusal to amplify external stimulants. Our simulations indicate that the cells enhance the systems asymmetry and as a result, nucleate early sustainable spiral territory zones, provided that their relative population does not exceed a tolerable threshold.