Noise-Induced Robust Synchronization in a Multicellular System

Oscillators are rarely strictly periodic but rather fluctuate irregularly over time. The fluctuations arise from the combined influences of the fluctuating environment, i.e. external noise due to the environmental perturbations or stochastic variations of externally set parameters, intrinsically random nature of chemical reactions, i.e. internal noise due to random transitions among discrete chemical states, and biological variance, i.e. differences between cells [1, 2]. The continual interaction between the fluctuating environment and individual internal feedback mechanisms makes the separation of dynamics impossible. Noise-induced robust collective behaviors have yet not been well understood because the phenomenon contradicts to our intuitiveness and most previous works on robustness were performed on how to maintain performances in the faces of noise [3, 4].