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Morphological Entanglement in Living Systems
Thomas C Day1, S Alireza Zamani-Dahaj1, G Ozan Bozdag2
1School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology.
Physical Review. X
|October 31, 2024
Summary
Organismal growth readily causes branching structures to become entangled, a phenomenon less dependent on geometry and more on time. This biological entanglement is easily achieved, offering new pathways for evolving material properties.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Developmental Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Organisms often display branching morphologies that intertwine and become entangled.
- Entanglement, well-studied in nonliving materials, is sensitive to component geometry.
- The role and mechanisms of entanglement in living systems remain less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how growth influences entanglement in branched biological structures.
- To determine the factors governing entanglement in living systems.
- To explore the evolutionary implications of growth-facilitated entanglement.
Main Methods:
- Experimental growth of branched structures.
- Computational simulations of branching and entanglement.
- Numerical analyses of geometric and temporal factors.
- Experiments using snowflake yeast as a model system.
Main Results:
- Growth generically facilitates entanglement across a wide range of geometries.
- Entangled branches from growth are often irreducible by physical manipulation.
- Simulations show branching trees readily entangle, independent of specific branch geometry.
- Entanglement in living systems is primarily dependent on growth duration, not geometry.
Conclusions:
- Growth is a key mechanism promoting entanglement in biological systems.
- Entanglement via growth is more accessible in living systems than in nonliving materials.
- This process provides a mechanism for the evolution of novel biological material properties.
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