Control and biological regulation of the traveling-wave regime

Determine what controls the size of the parametric regime in which traveling waves occur and how the Drosophila oocyte ensures that its cytoplasmic streaming operates within that traveling-wave regime.

Background

The paper identifies a traveling-wave regime between stable streaming and uncoordinated beating in the Twister model. Although the simulations reproduce experimentally observed waving behavior and indicate enhanced transport, the mechanisms that determine the extent of this regime in parameter space remain unresolved.

The authors also do not establish how the biological oocyte regulates motor activity, microtubule density, geometry, or other parameters to maintain operation in the traveling-wave regime. Resolving these issues would connect the model’s phase diagram to the biological control of cytoplasmic streaming.