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Cited by 164Nonlinear Dynamics and Pattern FormationMicro and Nano RoboticsMarine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology

Hydrodynamic Synchronization and Metachronal Waves on the Surface of the Colonial Alga Volvox carteri

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Brumley, Douglas R., Polin, Marco, Pedley, Timothy J., Goldstein, Raymond E.·2012·Physical Review Letters
DOI 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.

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  • Coordination of cilia can often be achieved by non-neural means, such as hydrodynamic coupling causing metachronal waves.

    “However, coordination of cilia can often be achieved by non-neural means. In particular, adjacent cilia in multiciliated epithelia spontaneously synchronize their beating activity by means of hydrodynamic coupling, leading to the formation of metachronal waves in multiciliated epithelia or ciliary bands [14-16].”

    From An option space for early neural evolution (2015) · cites this paper as [16]

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. E. W. Knight-Jones, Q. J. Microsc. Sci. 95, 503 (1954).
  2. See Supplemental Material at http://link.aps.org/ supplemental/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.268102 for a video of the time-dependent flow field and the time- averaged velocity profile for a representative colony.

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Authors
Brumley, D. R., Polin, M., Pedley, T. J., & Goldstein, R. E.
Affiliations
University of Cambridge (GB)
ORCID
Venue
Physical Review Letters
Publisher
American Physical Society (APS)
Published
2012-12-27
Volume
109
Issue
26
Pages
268102-268102
ISSN
  • 0031-9007 (ISSN-L)
  • 1079-7114
DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.109.268102
OpenAlex
W1989815624
Cited by
164
References
34
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 34 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 6
FWCI
8.83
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Physical Review Letters (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Warwick Research Archive Portal (University of Warwick) (acceptedVersion)
  • Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/H028862/1)
  • Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/F021844/1)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Networks and Communications › Nonlinear Dynamics and Pattern Formation
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Condensed Matter Physics › Micro and Nano Robotics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology
Keywords
metachronal waves, Volvox carteri, ciliary beating, flagellar coordination, phase oscillators, elastohydrodynamic lubrication, collective oscillations
MeSH terms
Biophysics, Flagella, Models, Biological, Movement, Volvox, Hydrodynamics

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