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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 17: Posters: Physics of Cells

BP 17.25: Poster

Mittwoch, 28. März 2012, 17:30–19:30, Poster A

Mechanical instabilities of tubular cellular protrusions — •Dominic Jourdain and Karsten Kruse — Theoretische Physik, Universität des Saarlandes, Postfach 151150, 66041 Saarbrücken, Germany

Cellular systems present a multitude of tubular protrusions, e.g., filopodia, axons or stereocilia. These structures are essentially cylinders delimited by a lipid membrane and filled with cytoskeletal filaments. The intrinsic activity of such protrusions can induce mechanical instabilities. For example, peristaltic shape transformations of axons have been observed subsequent to osmotic perturbations [1]. To further understand possible mechanical instabilities of tubular protrusions, we study the dynamics of active gels inside cylindrical membrane tubes. A multi-component hydrodynamic theory is used to describe cytoskeletal dynamics on a continuum level and on macroscopic length and time scales. We find that sufficiently large active stresses in the gel induce peristaltic instabilities.

[1] Pullarkat et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 048104 (2006)