F‐actin assembly in Dictyostelium cell locomotion and shape oscillations propagates as a self‐organized reaction–diffusion wave

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Abstract
The crawling locomotion and shape of eukaryotic cells have been associated with the stochastic molecular dynamics of actin and its protein regulators, chiefly Arp2/3 and Rho family GTPases, in making a cytoskeleton meshwork within cell extensions. However, the cell's actin‐dependent oscillatory shape and extension dynamics may also yield insights into locomotory mechanisms. Confocal observations of live Dictyostelium cells, expressing a green fluorescent protein–actin fusion protein, demonstrate oscillating supramolecular patterns of filamentous actin throughout the cell, which generate pseudopodia at the cell edge. The distinctively dissipative spatio‐temporal behavior of these structures provides strong evidence that reversible actin filament assembly propagates as a self‐organized, chemical reaction–diffusion wave.