Anti-jamming in a fungal transport network

Abstract

Congestion limits the efficiency of transport networks ranging from highways to the internet. Fungal hyphal networks are studied as an examples of optimal biological transport networks, but the scheduling and direction of traffic to avoid congestion has not been examined. We show here that the Neurospora crassa fungal network exhibits anticongestion: more densely packed nuclei flow faster along hyphal highways, and transported nuclei self-organize into fast flowing solitons. Concentrated transport by solitons may allow cells to cycle between growing and acting as transport conduits.