Dresden 2006 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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AKB: Biologische Physik

AKB 7: Biopolymers I

AKB 7.1: Hauptvortrag

Dienstag, 28. März 2006, 09:45–10:15, ZEU 255

Cytoskeletal Polymerization Motors — •Marileen Dogterom — FOM Institute AMOLF, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Dynamic cytoskeletal polymers such as microtubules and actin filaments provide forces for various types of cellular and intracellular motility. To understand how these polymerization motors work we use optical tweezers-based techniques and microfabricated barriers that allow us to study both actin and microtubule force generation at a single polymer level. We can measure force-velocity relations and monitor how the polymer assembly dynamics responds to force, both in the absence and presence of relevant binding proteins. In addition, we use microfabricated devices to mimic the physical confinement of living cells and study, for example, the role of microtubule-based force generation in the positioning of microtubule organizing centers. In cells, this positioning results from a complex interplay between dynamic, force-generating microtubules, the cell cortex, the cell geometry, and regulatory proteins. In microfabricated chambers, we have previously shown that in simple cases the pushing of the growing microtubules on the chamber walls is enough to center the organizing center. We have now refined this type of experiment by adding specific biochemical activity to the chamber walls. This allows us to study the effect of localized motor proteins and cortical regulatory proteins on microtubule organization and the positioning of microtubule organizing centers.