Structure and dynamics of motor-driven microtubule bundles.
Soft Matter
; 20(29): 5715-5723, 2024 Jul 24.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38872426
ABSTRACT
Connecting the large-scale emergent behaviors of active cytoskeletal materials to the microscopic properties of their constituents is a challenge due to a lack of data on the multiscale dynamics and structure of such systems. We approach this problem by studying the impact of depletion attraction on bundles of microtubules and kinesin-14 molecular motors. For all depletant concentrations, kinesin-14 bundles generate comparable extensile dynamics. However, this invariable mesoscopic behavior masks the transition in the microscopic motion of microtubules. Specifically, with increasing attraction, we observe a transition from bi-directional sliding with extension to pure extension with no sliding. Small-angle X-ray scattering shows that the transition in microtubule dynamics is concurrent with a structural rearrangement of microtubules from an open hexagonal to a compressed rectangular lattice. These results demonstrate that bundles of microtubules and molecular motors can display the same mesoscopic extensile behaviors despite having different internal structures and microscopic dynamics. They provide essential information for developing multiscale models of active matter.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Kinesins
/
Microtubules
Language:
En
Journal:
Soft Matter
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States
Country of publication:
United kingdom