Hydrodynamic interactions of cilia on a spherical body

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the curved shape of a spherical microorganism's body influences the synchronization and wave patterns of cilia, revealing that geometry can induce natural synchronization and wave-like behaviors.

Contribution

It introduces a minimal model to analyze hydrodynamic interactions of cilia on a spherical body, highlighting the role of geometry in cilia synchronization and wave formation.

Findings

Geometry induces natural cilia synchronization.

Asymmetry leads to emergent wave-like behavior.

Hydrodynamic interactions alone can explain observed patterns.

Abstract

Microorganisms develop coordinated beating patterns on surfaces lined with cilia known as metachronal waves. For a chain of cilia attached to a flat ciliate, it has been shown that hydrodynamic interactions alone can lead the system to synchronize. However, several microorganisms possess a curve shaped ciliate body and so to understand the effect of this geometry on the formation of metachronal waves, we evaluate the hydrodynamic interactions of cilia near a large spherical body. Using a minimal model, we show that for a chain of cilia around the sphere, the natural periodicity in the geometry leads the system to synchronize. We also report an emergent wave-like behavior when an asymmetry is introduced to the system.