Amoeboid organism solves complex nutritional challenges.

ABSTRACT: A fundamental question in nutritional biology is how distributed systems maintain an optimal supply of multiple nutrients essential for life and reproduction. In the case of animals, the nutritional requirements of the cells within the body are coordinated by the brain in neural and chemical dialogue with sensory systems and peripheral organs. At the level of an insect society, the requirements for the entire colony are met by the foraging efforts of a minority of workers responding to cues emanating from the brood. Both examples involve components specialized to deal with nutrient supply and demand (brains and peripheral organs, foragers and brood). However, some of the most species-rich, largest, and ecologically significant heterotrophic organisms on earth, such as the vast mycelial net

SUBMITTER: Dussutour A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2842061 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature