Data-driven multiscale modeling reveals the role of metabolic coupling for the spatio-temporal growth dynamics of yeast colonies

摘要

Multicellular organisms and colonies of unicellular microbes are able to form characteristic structures by specialized cell types [ , ]. While it is generally accepted that the structure and functions of tissue and organs are genetically encoded, more recently it has been demonstrated that the morphologies of biofilms like yeast colonies have a strong genetic component [ – ]. Together with the frequently observed growth medium dependency of yeast cultures, these findings further underpin the importance of genome–environment interactions for phenotype development [ ]. To understand the underlying mechanisms, it is key to investigate how metabolic coupling is influencing individual cell states and instructing structure formation.