Biomechanical and coherent phenomena in morphogenetic relaxation processes.

Biological forms can be studied independently on the principles of their actualization, which was demonstrated in the book of d'Arcy Thompson "On Growth and Form"(1917) and in the nomogenetic theories of evolution. However the principles of actualization of forms have to be established and they are not directly related to the genetic system, being the generic phenomena non-reducible to the formal language of the genome. It is suggested that for the description of morphogenesis the concept of conformational relaxation is just as important as for enzymatic catalysis. Long-term relaxation properties are provided by the cytoskeleton. Compared to a single protein molecule, the cytoskeletal structures allow conformational movements on longer distances and for longer duration that can generally lead to a hyper-restoration of the initial state with the increased tension triggering further morphogenetic events. During this prolonged relaxation, the cytoskeleton microtubules hold the coherent state characterized by ultraweak emission of photons. This allows non-local interactions and assembly similar to that demonstrated recently for self-coordinated operation of photosynthetic antennae. As a result, the spatiotemporal patterns are formed based on the optimality principles that are established via internal reflective activity of biological systems.
Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
PMID: 22626531