Transition from isotropic to digitated growth modulates network formation in Physarum polycephalum

TY - JOUR

T1 - Transition from isotropic to digitated growth modulates network formation in Physarum polycephalum

AU - Vogel, David

AU - Gautrais, Jacques

AU - Perna, Andrea

AU - Sumpter, David J.T.

AU - Deneubourg, Louis

AU - Dussutour, Audrey

PY - 2016/11/22

Y1 - 2016/11/22

N2 - Some organisms, including fungi, ants or slime molds, explore their environment and forage by forming interconnected networks. The plasmodium of the slime mold P.polycephalum is a large unicellular amoeboid organism which grows a tubular spatial network through which nutrients, body mass and chemical signals are transported. Individual plasmodia are capable of sophisticated behaviours such as optimizing their network connectivity and dynamics using only decentralized information processing. In this study, we used a population of plasmodia which interconnect through time, in order to analyse the dynamical interactions between growth of individual plasmodia and global network formation. Our results showed how the initial conditions, such as the distance between plasmodia or their size, as well as the presence and quality of food affect the emerging network connectivity.© 2016, IOP Publishing. The attached document (embargoed until 22/11/2017) is an author produced version of a paper published in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self- archiving policy. The final published version (version of record) is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/50/1/014002. Some minor differences between this version and the final published version may remain. We suggest you refer to the final published version should you wish to cite from it.

AB - Some organisms, including fungi, ants or slime molds, explore their environment and forage by forming interconnected networks. The plasmodium of the slime mold P.polycephalum is a large unicellular amoeboid organism which grows a tubular spatial network through which nutrients, body mass and chemical signals are transported. Individual plasmodia are capable of sophisticated behaviours such as optimizing their network connectivity and dynamics using only decentralized information processing. In this study, we used a population of plasmodia which interconnect through time, in order to analyse the dynamical interactions between growth of individual plasmodia and global network formation. Our results showed how the initial conditions, such as the distance between plasmodia or their size, as well as the presence and quality of food affect the emerging network connectivity.© 2016, IOP Publishing. The attached document (embargoed until 22/11/2017) is an author produced version of a paper published in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self- archiving policy. The final published version (version of record) is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/50/1/014002. Some minor differences between this version and the final published version may remain. We suggest you refer to the final published version should you wish to cite from it.

U2 - 10.1088/1361-6463/50/1/014002

DO - 10.1088/1361-6463/50/1/014002

M3 - Article

SN - 0022-3727

JO - Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics

JF - Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics

ER -