Jiménez Alba, Lu Ying, Jambhekar Ashwini, Lahav Galit
Department of Systems Biology, Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Ludwig Center at Harvard, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Interface Focus. 2022 Apr 15;12(3):20210088. doi: 10.1098/rsfs.2021.0088. eCollection 2022 Jun 6.
Entrainment is a phenomenon in which two oscillators interact with each other, typically through physical or chemical means, to synchronize their oscillations. This phenomenon occurs in biology to coordinate processes from the molecular to organismal scale. Biological oscillators can be entrained within a single cell, between cells or to an external input. Using six illustrative examples of entrainable biological oscillators, we discuss the distinctions between entrainment and synchrony and explore features that contribute to a system's propensity to entrain. Entrainment can either enhance or reduce the heterogeneity of oscillations within a cell population, and we provide examples and mechanisms of each case. Finally, we discuss the known functions of entrainment and discuss potential functions from an evolutionary perspective.
同步是一种现象，其中两个振荡器相互作用，通常通过物理或化学手段，使它们的振荡同步。这种现象在生物学中发生，以协调从分子到生物体尺度的过程。生物振荡器可以在单个细胞内、细胞之间或对外界输入进行同步。通过六个可同步生物振荡器的示例，我们讨论了同步与同步性之间的区别，并探索了有助于系统同步倾向的特征。同步可以增强或降低细胞群体内振荡的异质性，我们提供了每种情况的示例和机制。最后，我们讨论了已知的同步功能，并从进化的角度讨论了潜在功能。
