Berlin 2024 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 28: Cytoskeleton

BP 28.11: Talk

Thursday, March 21, 2024, 12:45–13:00, H 2032

Cytoskeleton flow-to-force — •Yoav G. Pollack, Nilay Cicek, Emily Klass, Pratima Sawant, Sarah Köster, Anne Wald, and Andreas Janshoff — University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.

The cytoskeleton provides the cell with both structural integrity and the capability to continuously adjust shape to support functions such as crawling or squeezing through gaps. To gain insight into this process we study the motion of actin filaments driven by myosin motors. We aim to read active actin flow or contraction from reconstituted actomyosin networks in droplets and Giant Unilamellar Vesicles (GUVs) and solve the inverse problem to deduce the motion-generating force field. From the theory side, a solution to the inverse problem is obtained with some robustness to measurement noise via regularization. However, reading the flow from fluorescent images is an ongoing data analysis challenge. We try to bridge this gap between experiment and mathematical theory using simulations. These can reveal both the necessary experimental parameters for reading the flow (e.g. frame rate and image resolution), as well as ascertain the minimal requirements of an experimental setup of showing a coherent flow, such as actin anchoring points and whether an induced anisotropy is needed.

This work was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), project-ID 449750155, RTG 2756, Projects A4, A6, A7.

Keywords: Actomyosin; Actin; Mysoin; Flow; Active