22 February 2024 Thu 4 pm

Synchronization is a paramount feature of early embryonic development: each cell divides at the same time, allowing for a highly self-organized spatial distribution of nuclei within the embryo. Cell division progresses as mitotic wavefronts, that coordinates the cell cycles over distances that are much larger than what diffusion would allow. A chemical oscillator was found to control those division waves. However, recent experiments in cytoplasmic extract have shown that slowing down the cell cycle leads to chaos and turbulent flows within the cytoplasm. Therefore, the interplay between the chemical oscillator, the emergence of the mitotic waves, and the chaotic cytoplasmic flow that arise upon its perturbation are not well understood. I will first introduce the biophysics principles of self-organization in the cell. Then, I will show how numerical simulations of discrete oscillators with a Kuramoto-like coupling confirm that the emergence of travelling waves is controlled by the oscillation period.

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