title: Pacemakers in aggregation fields of Dictyostelium discoideum: does a single cell suffice?
abstract: In this paper we address the following question: can a single cell of the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum serve as a pacemaker for the aggregation phase? Whether or not this is possible is determined by the relative importance of cyclic AMP production due to self-stimulation as compared to diffusion of cyclic AMP away from the cell and extracellular degradation. We determine the conditions under which a single cell on an infinite place can emit periodic signals of cyclic AMP using a model developed previously for signal relay and adaptation in Dictyostelium. Elsewhere it has been shown that this model provides an accurate representation of the stimulus-response behavior of Dictyostelium for a variety of experimental conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: DeYoung
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Monk
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Othmer
mesh_terms: D002449:Cell Aggregation; D004023:Dictyostelium / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D008433:Mathematics; D008954:Models, Biological