Dynamics and emergence of metachronal waves in the ciliary band of a metazoan larva.

ABSTRACT: From single cells to humans, ciliary arrays exhibit diverse coordination patterns that are essential to normal physiology. A major open question is how cilia self-organize into metachronal waves, where neighboring cilia beat with the same beat pattern but slightly differing phase. In marine invertebrate larvae, cilia are arranged ornately in arrays or bands, which propagate mesmerizing metachronal waves for swimming motility. Here, we investigate ciliary metachronism in larvae of the annelid Platynereis dumerelii, using whole-body high-speed imaging and physical and biological manipulations. The results reveal an unexpected wave structure featuring strong coupling within multiciliated cells that breaks down across cell boundaries. Using laser ablation to selectively remove parts of

SUBMITTER: Poon RN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12525900 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature