Kaern M, Menzinger M, Hunding A
Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Biophys Chem. 2000 Oct 30;87(2-3):121-6. doi: 10.1016/s0301-4622(00)00181-2.
The early vertebrate developmental process of somitogenesis involves bands of gene expression that form periodically at the posterior end of the presomitic mesoderm (PSM) and traverse it with decreasing width and velocity. We have constructed a chemical flow system that, based on the novel flow-distributed oscillator (FDO) mechanism of wave pattern formation, reproduces key physical features of the PSM and observe concentration waves having similar spatio-temporal behavior. This suggests that the gene expression waves can be understood qualitatively in terms of phase dynamics in an open flow of a self-oscillating medium and that chemical flow systems can be used to mimic and model biological pattern formation during axial growth. In fact, expressions for wavelength and wave velocity derived from phase dynamics are found to be in quantitative agreement with measurements from both the biological and the chemical systems. This indicates that they, despite their significant differences, have common dynamics.
脊椎动物早期的体节发生发育过程涉及基因表达带，这些基因表达带周期性地在体节中胚层（PSM）后端形成，并以逐渐减小的宽度和速度穿过该区域。我们构建了一个化学流动系统，该系统基于波模式形成的新型流动分布振荡器（FDO）机制，再现了PSM的关键物理特征，并观察到具有相似时空行为的浓度波。这表明基因表达波可以根据自振荡介质开放流中的相位动力学进行定性理解，并且化学流动系统可用于模拟和建模轴向生长过程中的生物模式形成。事实上，从相位动力学得出的波长和波速表达式与生物系统和化学系统的测量结果在数量上一致。这表明它们尽管存在显著差异，但具有共同的动力学。
