Work

Resolving and Mathematizing Energetic Gradients That Facilitate Cytoskeletal Self-Assembly

Year: 2025

Type: dissertation

Abstract: In the thesis that follows, I describe three interconnected stories. These threads strive to paint a unified picture of the energetic and mechanical assembly of motor proteins and microtubules into structures that resemble mitotic spindles, the complex molecular machines that segregate chromosomes during cell division. In the work described, we introduce a new method for direct measurement of ATP molecules in space and time, building upon the field’s excitement towards witnessing gradients in isolated processes. We additionally write mathematical models exploring the physics of building and maintaining gradients in non-equilibrium steady states. And, in the spirit of comprehensively understanding our system, we explore the material properties of dynamic network formation.

Source: Caltech Library

DOI: 10.7907/1ptv-0r61

Author: Duarte, Ana Isabel

Institution: California Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Microtubule and mitosis dynamics

Subfield: Cell Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: John Templeton Foundation, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program

Awards: G500318789, The Boundaries of Life Research Initiative: Asking fundamental questions about the origins, evolution and diversity of life on Earth and beyond, Boundaries of Life Initiative: seeking fundamental advances in the nature, origins and limits of life

OpenAlex ID: W7094941870

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