A unicellular walker controlled by a microtubule-based finite-state machine.

ABSTRACT: Cells are complex biochemical systems whose behaviors emerge from interactions among myriad molecular components. Computation is often invoked as a general framework for navigating this cellular complexity. However, it is unclear how cells might embody computational processes such that the theories of computation, including finite-state machine models, could be productively applied. Here, we demonstrate finite-state-machine-like processing embodied in cells using the walking behavior of Euplotes eurystomus, a ciliate that walks across surfaces using fourteen motile appendages (cirri). We found that cellular walking entails regulated transitions among a discrete set of gait states. The set of observed transitions decomposes into a small group of high-probability, temporally irreversible tra

SUBMITTER: Larson BT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9474717 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature