Insights into morphogenesis from a simple developmental system
Slime mold uses cyclic AMP quorum sensing to aggregate 100,000 cells into coordinated organism when starvation strikes.
Starvation triggers collective action. This comprehensive review established Dictyostelium—the slime mold—as biology's paradigm for understanding how independent actors aggregate into coordinated organizations. When nutrients deplete, individual cells begin secreting cyclic AMP, creating chemical gradients that attract neighboring cells. Up to 100,000 formerly independent cells then converge into a single multicellular organism capable of coordinated movement and reproduction.
The mechanism is quorum sensing at scale: cells don't just detect threshold signals—they actively amplify them, creating positive feedback loops that transform individual starvation into collective response. For organizations, this illuminates how crises can become coordination opportunities. Companies that establish chemical equivalents of cAMP—shared metrics, early warning signals, coordination protocols—can transform scattered responses into unified action when market conditions deteriorate. The slime mold's insight: collective intelligence emerges not from central control but from simple rules for signal amplification and response.
Key Findings from Chisholm & Firtel (2004)
- Starvation initiates developmental program transforming individual cells into multicellular organism
- Cyclic AMP serves as chemoattractant signal coordinating aggregation of up to 100,000 cells
- Chemotaxis toward cAMP source creates positive feedback loop amplifying collective response
- Development proceeds through distinct phases: aggregation, cytodifferentiation, cell sorting, morphogenesis
- Established Dictyostelium as paradigm organism for studying chemotactic behavior and collective coordination