The dynamics of Dictyostelium development

The process whereby Dictyostelium amoebae change from a unicellular to multicellular mode of living offers substantial challenges for attempts at understanding how nonequilibrium physics enters into developmental biology. In this mini review, I describe recent attempts to use analytical and computational approaches to get at the fundamental mechanisms behind several stages of the aforementioned developmental process. These stages include the formation of a signaling wavefield often dominated by rotating spirals, the breakup of the cell density into aggregation streams, and the morphogenesis of the aggregate into a mound which then spontaneously forms a tip.