Figure 1.

Network morphology and peristaltic wave driving long-ranged cytoplasmic flows in the plasmodial slime mould P. polycephalum. (a) Self-organization of the network morphology over the course of 12.5 h. An initially well-reticulated network migrates to the left thereby retracting connections and altering tube radius hierarchy. Scale bar, 5 mm. (b) Bright-field microscopy image of P. polycephalum network trimmed to a rectangular shape. Scale bar, 2 mm. (c) Analysis of actin-cytoskeleton-driven contractions of tube walls in (b) reveal phases of contractions to be patterned in a roughly linear gradient. The wavelength of this peristaltic phase pattern on a network matches the organism size. (d) Simulation results of the spread of particles (copper colour) due to the streaming of fluid flow driven by the peristaltic contractions.