A spatial pattern formation model for Dictyostelium discoideum

In Dictyostelium discoideum , it is said that cells first differentiate into prestalk and prespore cells irrespective of their positions and then they sort out to form typical spatial patterns. We have investigated these pattern formation processes for the slug and for aggregates of dissociated slug cells through computer simulations in a two-dimensional discrete framework. Of the three possible factors of cell sorting mechanisms—i.e., randomness in cell movement, differential chemotaxis, and differential cell adhesion—we have shown that neither of the last two factors can be discarded, and that the differential cell adhesion should be working in such a way that prestalk and prespore cells intermingle with each other.

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