Effect of in-plane shear on pattern formation in cell populations
Guest Speaker Talk
- Datum: 23.02.2026
- Uhrzeit: 14:30 - 15:30
- Vortragende(r): Sidharth Kumar Das
- Ort: ZSM (Synmikro), Karl-von-Frisch-Str. 14
- Raum: seminar room 1, 3rd floor
- Gastgeber: Dr. Remy Colin
- Kontakt: remy.colin@synmikro.mpi-marburg.mpg.de
- Rubrik: Gesprächs- und Diskussionsformate, Vorträge
Dictyostelium discoideum is a free-living amoeba and a striking example of biological pattern formation. Upon starvation, individual cells aggregate via chemotaxis into multicellular structures through the propagation of spiral waves of cyclic AMP, making it an excellent system for studying excitable media and reaction–diffusion processes in biology. While decades of work have shown how chemical signalling and collective motion generate robust spatiotemporal patterns, most studies have focused on quiescent environments dominated by biochemical and diffusive dynamics. In natural and physiological settings, however, cells are exposed to stresses and flows that can couple to their signalling and motility. Despite this, little is known about how such mechanical forces influence chemotactic wave dynamics and pattern formation. In this work, D. discoideum populations were studied in real time under controlled in-plane shear using a custom-built shearing device. Time-lapse brightfield and dark-field microscopy, combined with a dedicated image-analysis pipeline, were used to quantify wave morphology and aggregation dynamics. We find that applied shear induces strong anisotropy in chemotactic waves, altering their direction, wavelength, and morphology relative to quiescent conditions. Remarkably, these effects closely resemble those produced by external flow, despite the absence of net medium transport. This framework enables controlled studies of active matter under shear and provides new insight into mechanically coupled collective cell behaviour.