Receptor Organization Determines the Limits of Single-Cell Source Location Detection.

Many types of cells require the ability to pinpoint the location of an external stimulus from the arrival of diffusing signaling molecules at cell-surface receptors. How does the organization (number and spatial configuration) of these receptors shape the limit of a cell's ability to infer the source location? In the idealized scenario of a spherical cell, we apply asymptotic analysis to compute splitting probabilities between individual receptors and formulate an information-theoretic framework to quantify the role of receptor organization. Clustered configurations of receptors provide an advantage in detecting sources aligned with the clusters, suggesting a possible multiscale mechanism for single-cell source inference.