Berlin 2018 – scientific programme

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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 54: Statistical Physics of Biological Systems I (joint session BP/DY)

DY 54.9: Talk

Thursday, March 15, 2018, 12:00–12:15, H 2013

Force sharing between elastically coupled molecular motors — •Mehmet Can Ucar and Reinhard Lipowsky — Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Science Park Golm, 14476 Potsdam, Germany

Molecular motors are nano-scale machines that drive many essential processes within the living cell such as the organization of the mitotic spindle, the powering of flagella and cilia, and the long-distance transport of cellular cargos. These motor proteins frequently work in teams of multiple motors and can collectively generate large forces, but the underlying mechanism of force generation and force sharing remains controversial. Here we address this question by introducing a new model for cargo transport by elastically coupled molecular motors. For a system of two identical motors acting against an antagonistic motor or an optical trap, we find that motors share the generated forces almost equally among the members of the same team. The model furthermore provides a new explanation for observed forces in different in vitro studies.