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Nonlinear Phototaxis and Instabilities in Suspensions of Light-Seeking Algae

Aina Ramamonjy, Julien Dervaux, and Philippe Brunet
Phys. Rev. Lett. 128, 258101 – Published 21 June 2022
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Abstract

The mechanism by which living organisms seek optimal light conditions—phototaxis—is a fundamental process for motile photosynthetic microbes. It is involved in a broad array of natural processes and applications from bloom formation to the production of high-value chemicals in photobioreactors. Here, we show that a population of the model alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii exhibits a highly sensitive nonlinear response to light and demonstrate that the self-organization of cells in a heterogeneous environment becomes unstable as the result of a coupling between bioconvective flows and phototaxis.

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  • Received 19 January 2022
  • Accepted 23 March 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.258101

© 2022 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Physics of Living SystemsFluid DynamicsNonlinear Dynamics

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Complex Dance of Light-Seeking Algae in Light Gradients

Published 21 June 2022

A population of photosynthetic algae has been shown to exhibit a highly nonlinear response to light, forming dynamic structures in light-intensity gradients.

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Authors & Affiliations

Aina Ramamonjy, Julien Dervaux*, and Philippe Brunet

  • Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes, UMR 7057 CNRS and Université de Paris, 75013 Paris, France

  • *Corresponding author. julien.dervaux@univ-paris-diderot.fr

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Issue

Vol. 128, Iss. 25 — 24 June 2022

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