Artistic swimming dance of algae

With the help of high-speed cinematography, scientists at Cambridge University discovered that single-cell algae can coordinate the whips of the two whips, thus mastering their swimming path. The results of the study are published in the journal Science on July 24.

Researchers surveyed Chlamydomonas reinhardti, a single-celled species with two appendages shaped like human hair. The biting rhythm of these two whips pushes Chlamydomonas into the liquid environment, while also making its body spin around an invisible horizontal axis.

The team found that these unicellular organisms can flog in two separate ways: steadily with frequency and position of repetitive movements, and irregularly with frequency. different rates. With the use of specialized design kits to track the swimways of these individuals, the research team showed that rhythmic swimming corresponds to linear movements, while irregular swimming is appropriate for the tracks. crab or sudden change of direction. While previous studies suggest that these two swimming states are characteristic of each population, the new study suggests that all Chlamydomonas individuals control the frequency of whip and switch between the two swim states. different. In other words, Chlamydomonas has two modes of movement.

Moreover, researchers have developed a mathematical analysis that describes these two whips as oscillators in pairs. The way they work is similar to how they glow in fireflies or the usual Mexican waveforms found in stadiums.

With the help of high-speed cinematography, Cambridge University scientists discovered that single-celled algae can rhythmically coordinate the whips of the two whips, thereby mastering their swimming path ( Photo: copyrighted by Cambridge University)

Professor Raymond E. Goldstein of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP), who led the study, said: 'These results indicate that the synchronization of the whips is a much more complex issue. compared to what people think, and it is related to the subtle interaction between cell regulation, hydrodynamics, and biochemical noise. '

Sponsored by the Biological and Biological Application Research Council (BBSRC), this work is part of a larger effort to understand the evolutionary transformation from single-celled bodies (such as Chlamydomonas). to multicellular body.In addition, the whip of Chlamydomonas cells closely resembles eyelashes on the human body. In many life processes, from reproduction to breathing, the coordination of eyelashes plays an important role. For this reason, a closer study of synchronous activity and the effect of synchronous activity can bring important discoveries to human health and the fight against disease.

The team was led by Professor Goldstein, in addition to Dr. Marco Polin, Idan Tuval, graduate student Dr. Knut Drescher, and Professor Jerry P. Gollub.