title: Regulation of chain length in two diatoms as a growth-fragmentation process.
abstract: Chain formation in diatoms is relevant because of several aspects of their adaptation to the ecosystem. However, the tools to quantify the regulation of their assemblage and infer specific mechanisms in a laboratory setting are scarce. To address this problem, we define an approach based on a statistical physics model of chain growth and separation in combination with experimental evaluation of chain-length distributions. Applying this combined analysis to data from Chaetoceros decipiens and Phaeodactylum tricornutum, we find that cells of the first species control chain separation, likely through a cell-to-cell communication process, while the second species only modulates the separation rate. These results promote quantitative methods for characterizing chain formation in several chain-forming species and in diatoms in particular.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, University of Milano, Via Celoria 16, Milano, Italy.|INFN, Milano, Italy.|Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 6, UMR 7238, Computational and Quantitative Biology, 15 rue de l'École de Médecine, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gherardi
authors.affiliation: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Villa Comunale, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amato
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 6, UMR 7238, Computational and Quantitative Biology, 15 rue de l'École de Médecine, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Bouly
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 6, UMR 7238, Computational and Quantitative Biology, 15 rue de l'École de Médecine, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Soizic
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cheminant
authors.affiliation: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Villa Comunale, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Immacolata
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Ferrante
authors.affiliation: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Villa Comunale, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Maurizio Ribera
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: d'Alcalá
authors.affiliation: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Villa Comunale, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Iudicone
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 6, UMR 7238, Computational and Quantitative Biology, 15 rue de l'École de Médecine, Paris, France.|CNRS, UMR 7238, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Falciatore
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 6, UMR 7238, Computational and Quantitative Biology, 15 rue de l'École de Médecine, Paris, France.|CNRS, UMR 7238, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cosentino Lagomarsino
mesh_terms: D017377:Diatoms / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development*; D008954:Models, Biological