A physical model for galvanotaxis of Paramecium cell.
We propose a qualitative physical model of galvanotaxis of Paramecium cells using a bottom-up approach to link the microscopic ciliary motion and the macroscopic behavior of the cells. From the characteristic pattern of ciliary motion called the Ludloff phenomenon, the torque that orients the cell toward the cathode is derived mathematically. Dynamical equations of motion are derived and their stability is discussed. In numerical simulations using our model, cells exhibit realistic behavior, such as U-turns, like real cells.
Ogawa
Naoko
N
Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan. Naoko_Ogawa@ipc.i.u-tokyo.ac.jp <Naoko_Ogawa@ipc.i.u-tokyo.ac.jp>
Oku
Hiromasa
H
Hashimoto
Koichi
K
Ishikawa
Masatoshi
M
D000818:Animals; D002923:Cilia / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004594:Electrophysiology; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D010247:Paramecium / Q000502:physiology*; D019415:Torque