Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Tennodai, 1-1-1, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2013;3:2272. doi: 10.1038/srep02272.
Solitons have been observed in various physical phenomena. Here, we show that the distinct characteristics of solitons are present in the mass cell movement of non-chemotactic mutants of the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum. During starvation, D. discoideum forms multicellular structures that differentiate into spore or stalk cells and, eventually, a fruiting body. Non-chemotactic mutant cells do not form multicellular structures; however, they do undergo mass cell movement in the form of a pulsatile soliton-like structure (SLS). We also found that SLS induction is mediated by adhesive cell-cell interactions. These observations provide novel insights into the mechanisms of biological solitons in multicellular movement.
孤子在各种物理现象中都有被观察到。在这里，我们表明非趋化突变体的细胞黏菌盘基网柄菌的细胞群体运动中存在着孤子的独特特征。在饥饿时期，盘基网柄菌形成多细胞结构，分化为孢子或柄细胞，最终形成一个子实体。非趋化突变体细胞不会形成多细胞结构；然而，它们确实会以脉冲式孤子样结构（SLS）的形式进行细胞群体运动。我们还发现，SLS 的诱导是由细胞间的黏附相互作用介导的。这些观察结果为多细胞运动中生物孤子的机制提供了新的见解。
