DocumentCode :
2631574
Title :
A simulation study of mechanisms of group selection of the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum
Author :
Becker, Matthias
Author_Institution :
FG Simulation & Modeling, Univ. Hannover, Hannover, Germany
fYear :
2010
fDate :
5-7 May 2010
Firstpage :
321
Lastpage :
326
Abstract :
Slime molds are fascinating organisms, they can either live as an organism consisting out of a single cell (protozoa) or they can form a multi-cellular organism (pseudoplasmodium). So from the biological point of view, the slime molds are studied in order to understand the evolutionary step from a single cell organism to a multi-cellular organism. Studies have shown that the behavior of cooperating single cell organisms exhibit synergistic emergent intelligence, for example finding shortest paths. Just recently, simulation and experiments with a real slime mold (Physarum polycephalum) have been used for traveling salesman like problems. In this work we present a simulation model for the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. Different to other studies, here the whole life-cycle is modeled and simulated. This model is used to study the mechanism of cooperation of single cells: We compare the mechanism of altruistic group selection against individual and egoistic selection. It turns out that simple signaling mechanisms are sufficient for a complex behavior of Dictyostelium discoideum, that allows altruistic behavior on cell level, helping the whole population to survive.
Keywords :
biology; cellular biophysics; simulation; group selection; multi-cellular organism; protozoa; pseudoplasmodium; simulation study; single cell; slime mold dictyostelium discoideum; synergistic emergent intelligence; Computer architecture; Computer networks; Control systems; Databases; Hardware; Informatics; Intrusion detection; Statistical analysis; Switches; System buses;
fLanguage :
English
Publisher :
ieee
Conference_Titel :
Intelligent Engineering Systems (INES), 2010 14th International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Las Palmas
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-7650-3
Type :
conf
DOI :
10.1109/INES.2010.5483821
Filename :
5483821
Link To Document :
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