Berlin 2005 – scientific programme
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AKB: Biologische Physik
AKB 25: Active Networks and Cell Motility
AKB 25.8: Talk
Friday, March 4, 2005, 17:15–17:30, TU H2013
Dynamics of Cilia and Flagella — •Andreas Hilfinger1, Ingmar Riedel2, Amit Chattopadhyay1, Karsten Kruse1, Jonathon Howard2, and Frank Jülicher1 — 1Max-Planck-Institute for Physics of Complex Systems, D-01187 Dresden, Germany — 2Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, D-01307 Dresden, Germany
Directed motion on the level of single cells is in many cases
achieved through the beating of whip like appendages (cilia or
flagella). These organelles contain a highly conserved structure called axoneme, whose
characteristic architecture is based on a cylindrical arrangement of elastic filaments
(microtubules). In the presence of ATP, molecular motors (dynein) exert shear
forces between neighbouring microtubules, leading to a bending of the axoneme
through structural constraints.
We describe the axoneme as an elastic filament, driven
by internally generated stresses. Bending waves emerge from a non-oscillatory
state via a dynamic instability. The corresponding beat patterns are solutions to a non-linear wave equation
with appropriate boundary conditions. Focusing on beats confined to a surface we
compare our results to recent data from bull sperm flagella. Our approach can
be generalised to three dimensions enabling us to discuss helical and rotary wave patterns.