Spirostomum
cells that COMMUNICATe using hydrodynamic trigger waves
Even though its a single cell, this organism is making waves!
Spirostomum ambiguum (Heterotrichea) are ciliated protists that you can probably find in your local lake or pond! Usually, they will move around using their tiny cilia, but when the cell is surprised, you’ll see an amazing behavior. This tiny single-celled organism will contract to under half its body length in under 5 milliseconds, reaching almost 14 G’s! What’s more is when one cell triggers its ultrafast contraction, all the neighboring cells do the same! How does this fascinating mechanism work on such a small scale? And how does this tiny cell know when to use it?
We utilize cutting-edge techniques, such as innovative imaging and hydrodynamic experiments to gather kinematic and fluid mechanics data. This data serves as the foundation for developing mathematical models that provide us with a deeper understanding of these amazing creatures. These magnificent single-celled organisms serve as biological models, inspiring us to bioengineer active synthetic cells and investigate their collective behavior.
This project has been featured in nature and physics today.
Major questions
1) How fast does a Spirostomum contract?
2) How does a single Spirostomum signal danger to an entire population?
3) What can we learn from Spirostomum that will help us design synthetic contracting cells?
What we’ve discovered
Read the papers
Collective intercellular communication through ultra-fast hydrodynamic trigger waves. Nature (2019).