Dresden 2006 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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AKB: Biologische Physik

AKB 14: Molecular Motors

AKB 14.6: Vortrag

Dienstag, 28. März 2006, 17:30–17:45, ZEU 255

Motor-induced filament interactions in active gels — •Karsten Kruse and Frank Jülicher — Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme, Nöthnitzer Straße 38, 01187 Dresden

Motivated by active dynamic properties of the cytoskeleton, we develop a general framework for describing the dynamics of systems consisting of polar filaments and active cross-links. In the cytoskeleton, active cross-links are formed by motor proteins that are able to induce relative motion between filaments. The framework is based on an analysis of the momentum flux in the system and allows to calculate the stresses in the filament network generated by the action of motor proteins. We relate the dynamics to continuum theories of active polar gels and show that instabilities occur for sufficiently strong motor activity. We show that the instability can be either in the filament orientation or the filament density, depending on the relative values of the filaments’ longitudinal and transversal friction coefficient. Finally, we relate our results to in vitro experiments.