Identify optimal motility modes across gradient conditions

Determine, for chemotactic cells navigating chemoattractant gradients of varying strength and dynamics, which specific motility modes (e.g., pseudopod splitting, elongation, broad-front polarization, de novo pseudopod formation) are best suited to achieve high chemotactic accuracy under different gradient regimes.

Background

The paper investigates how amoeboid cells make directional decisions via stimulus-dependent actin recruitment, modeling pseudopod competition for a finite actin pool. The authors show that different pseudopod-based strategies naturally emerge depending on environmental conditions and gradient dynamics, and that pseudopod splitting can enhance performance in shallow, noisy gradients.

Despite these advances, the broad question of which motility mode is best matched to specific gradient regimes remains unresolved at the outset. The paper provides evidence for strategy trade-offs (e.g., faster reactions at the expense of pseudopod accuracy in static gradients, de novo pseudopods in dynamic gradients), but does not fully classify or map optimal motility modes to all gradient scenarios.