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Hydrodynamic synchronization and metachronal waves on the surface of the colonial alga Volvox carteri

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Brumley, Douglas R., Polin, Marco, Pedley, T. J. and Goldstein, Raymond E. (2012) Hydrodynamic synchronization and metachronal waves on the surface of the colonial alga Volvox carteri. Physical Review Letters, Volume 109 (Number 26). Article number 268102 . doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.268102

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.268102

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Abstract

From unicellular ciliates to the respiratory epithelium, carpets of cilia display metachronal waves, long-wavelength phase modulations of the beating cycles, which theory suggests may arise from hydrodynamic coupling. Experiments have been limited by a lack of organisms suitable for systematic study of flagella and the flows they create. Using time-resolved particle image velocimetry, we report the discovery of metachronal waves on the surface of the colonial alga Volvox carteri, whose large size and ease of visualization make it an ideal model organism for these studies. An elastohydrodynamic model of weakly coupled compliant oscillators, recast as interacting phase oscillators, reveals that orbit compliance can produce fast, robust synchronization in a manner essentially independent of boundary conditions, and offers an intuitive understanding of a possible mechanism leading to the emergence of metachronal waves.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: Q Science > QA Mathematics
Q Science > QK Botany
Divisions: Faculty of Science > Physics
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Cilia and ciliary motion, Volvox, Hydrodynamics
Journal or Publication Title: Physical Review Letters
Publisher: American Physical Society
ISSN: 0031-9007
Official Date: 27 December 2012
Dates:
DateEvent
27 December 2012Published
5 August 2012Submitted
Volume: Volume 109
Number: Number 26
Article Number: Article number 268102
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.268102
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Open Access
Funder: Gates Cambridge Trust, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (Great Britain) (BBSRC), European Research Council (ERC)
Grant number: 247333 (ERC)

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