APERIODIC STRUCTURES IN MOTILE CELL SOCIE TIES - MATHEMATICAL SIMULATION

The dynamics of spatial patterns in a motile cell - nutrient substrate system is studied by applying the cellular automata model. It is show n that as the substrate is consumed by the cells, this system exhibits a transition from random to nonuniform cell distributions (irregular, aperiodic spatial patterns). The formation of these patterns is a res ult of the growth and <<freezing>> of cell density fluctuations in the regions with decreased substrate concentration where cell motility dr astically falls.