Studies on understanding the mechanism for collective behavioral transitions

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21H02532
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 45010:Genetics-related
• Research Institution: Hiroshima University
• Principal Investigator: Takuma Sugi 広島大学, 統合生命科学研究科(理), 准教授 (70571305)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 線虫 / 集団行動

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, I found that the orderly pattern collapses in response to increased humidity, and eventually the majority of the nematodes form aggregates that have ceased to move. Subsequent observation of this agglomeration revealed that the nematode population did not resume movement in a disorderly manner, but instead shifted simultaneously to a state of movement within a few seconds. This transition of the entire population from static to dynamic is a phenomenon of self-organization on a time axis that is often observed in nature, such as the threatening behavior of honeybees (shimmering) against an external enemy or the flapping of wings of a flock of birds from the water surface against an external enemy. In these cases, the population as a whole is usually known to be close to a critical state in which it is likely to respond to external stimuli. Thus, we have clarified a part of the molecular neural mechanism of this state transition in this study.

Free Research Field

生物物理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

集団の振る舞いが最も多様かつ複雑で魅力的な個体集団レベルでは、行動遺伝学的解析が可能なモデル動物の集団の実験系に乏しく、秩序生成機構の理解を妨げてきた。ランダムに振る舞うミクロな要素は、相互作用して自己組織的にマクロな秩序を生み出すことにより単独の要素とは異なる振る舞いを示す。これまで自己組織化メカニズムに関しては、拡散する情報伝達因子に焦点が当てられてきた。しかし多様かつ複雑な個体集団の自己組織的現象については未解明な点が多く、自然科学の多くの分野に共通する核心的な問いであることから、本研究は波及効果は高いと考えられる。