Synchronization in collectively moving inanimate and living active matter

Michael Riedl (), Isabelle Mayer, Jack Merrin, Michael Sixt () and Björn Hof ()
Additional contact information
Michael Riedl: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)
Isabelle Mayer: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)
Jack Merrin: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)
Michael Sixt: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)
Björn Hof: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Whether one considers swarming insects, flocking birds, or bacterial colonies, collective motion arises from the coordination of individuals and entails the adjustment of their respective velocities. In particular, in close confinements, such as those encountered by dense cell populations during development or regeneration, collective migration can only arise coordinately. Yet, how individuals unify their velocities is often not understood. Focusing on a finite number of cells in circular confinements, we identify waves of polymerizing actin that function as a pacemaker governing the speed of individual cells. We show that the onset of collective motion coincides with the synchronization of the wave nucleation frequencies across the population. Employing a simpler and more readily accessible mechanical model system of active spheres, we identify the synchronization of the individuals’ internal oscillators as one of the essential requirements to reach the corresponding collective state. The mechanical ‘toy’ experiment illustrates that the global synchronous state is achieved by nearest neighbor coupling. We suggest by analogy that local coupling and the synchronization of actin waves are essential for the emergent, self-organized motion of cell collectives.

Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41432-1 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-41432-1

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41432-1

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().