Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: In microtubule-based active nematics, motor-driven extensile motion of microtubule bundles powers chaotic large-scale dynamics. We quantify the interfilament sliding motion both in isolated bundles and in a dense active nematic. The extension speed of an isolated microtubule pair is comparable to the molecular motor stepping speed. In contrast, the net extension in dense 2D active nematics is significantly slower; the interfilament sliding speeds are widely distributed about the average and the filaments exhibit both contractile and extensile relative motion. These measurements highlight the challenge of connecting the extension rate of isolated bundles to the multimotor and multifilament interactions present in a dense 2D active nematic. They also provide quantitative data that is essential for building multiscale models.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Institutions: University of California, Santa Barbara, Brandeis University
Language: English
Subfield: Cell Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Simons Foundation, Brandeis University, Life Sciences Research Foundation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, Harvard University, Division of Materials Research, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, Basic Energy Sciences
Awards: Bioinspired Soft Materials, G1132924628, Computational and Theoretical Modeling of Active Nematics in 3D and Under Confinement, G2346004024, Bioinspired Soft Materials, G2730000833, MICROTUBULE-BASED THREE DIMENSIONAL ACTIVE MATTER, G3550125992, G4340503088, G4505326535, G5261598906, G607538992, G7240839585, G7833242660, G8088400230, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, G8866155239, G985207216
OpenAlex ID: W3201000558