POSITIVE GENETIC FEEDBACK GOVERNS CAMP SPIRAL WAVE FORMATION IN DICTYOSTELIUM

The aggregation stage of the life cycle of Dictyostelium discoideum is governed by the chemotastic response of individual amoebae to excitab le waves of cAMP. We modeled this process through a recently introduce d hybrid automata-continuum scheme and used computer simulation to unr avel the role of specific components of this complex developmental pro cess. Our results indicated an essential role for positive feedback be tween the cAMP signaling and the expression of the genes encoding the signal transduction and response machinery.