The Impact of Phenotypic Heterogeneity on Chemotactic Self-Organisation.

The capacity to aggregate through chemosensitive movement forms a paradigm of self-organisation, with examples spanning cellular and animal systems. A basic mechanism assumes a phenotypically homogeneous population that secretes its own attractant, with the well known system introduced more than five decades ago by Keller and Segel proving resolutely popular in modelling studies. The typical assumption of population phenotypic homogeneity, however, often lies at odds with the heterogeneity of natural systems, where populations may comprise distinct phenotypes that vary according to their chemotactic ability, attractant secretion, etc.