Synchronization of eukaryotic cells by periodic forcing

We study a cell population described by a minimal mathematical model of the eukaryotic cell cycle subject to periodic forcing that simultaneously perturbs the dynamics of the cell cycle engine and cell growth, and we show that the population can be synchronized in a mode-locked regime. By simplifying the model to two variables, for the phase of cell cycle progression and the mass of the cell, we calculate the Lyapunov exponents to obtain the parameter window for synchronization. We also discuss the effects of intrinsic mitotic fluctuations, asymmetric division, and weak mutual coupling on the pace of synchronization.