A self-organizing single-cell morphology circuit optimizes Podophrya collini predatory trap structure.

Area of Science:

• Cell Biology
• Developmental Biology
• Biophysics

Background:

• Cellular structures self-organize via internal mechanisms and external cues.
• Predatory ciliates utilize specialized structures for prey capture, linking environmental resources to morphology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the self-organizing single-cell morphology circuit in Podophrya collini.
• To understand how trap architecture adaptively optimizes prey capture probability.

Main Methods:

• Anisotropic scaling analysis of trap architecture.
• Drug perturbations, transcriptomics, and proteomics.
• Expansion microscopy and mathematical modeling.

Main Results:

• Trap architecture scales anisotropically, prioritizing tentacle number over length.
• Identified molecular and structural requirements for trap maintenance and tentacle biogenesis.
• Mathematical model explains adaptive scaling and predicts experimental outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Podophrya collini exhibits adaptive optimization of its predatory trap structure.
• The identified circuit provides a generalizable control logic for sub-cellular structure organization.
• Findings have implications for natural and engineered cellular systems.