Speaker
Description
Self-organization in biological systems is crucial for coordinating vital functions. One such example is the collective motion of slender cellular appendages called cilia. In dense arrays, neighboring cilia beat with a phase shift, forming metachronal waves essential for large-scale flow generation. Despite their prevalence, the mechanisms governing cilia patterns and their connection to flow parameters remain unclear. Using high spatio-temporal imaging and quantitative image analysis, we characterize metachronal patterns in the living unicellular organism Didinium nasutum. By manipulating external flow properties like viscosity, we aim to quantify the extent of cilia responses to hydrodynamic forces, shedding light on the interplay between cilia coordination and fluid dynamics.
