Regensburg 2025 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 17: Poster Session II

BP 17.55: Poster

Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 18:00–20:30, P4

Mechanical properties of microtubule in actin network — •Komal Bhattacharyya, Sarah Köster, and Stefan Klumpp — University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

The cytoskeleton provides structural support and facilitates dynamic cellular processes such as growth and migration. Actin and microtubules are key components of the cytoskeleton. Actin, characterized by its semi-flexible nature, contrasts with the stiff, rod-like structure of microtubules. The synergy between these two elements plays a pivotal role in numerous biological phenomena. For instance, microtubules exhibit enhanced resistance to compressive forces when integrated into an actin network.

In our research, we use the simulation package Cytosim to study composite networks formed by actin and microtubules. Specifically, we analyze the buckling behavior of microtubules under compressive forces and thermal fluctuations and how it is affected by mechanical coupling to actin. We observe that long-range repulsive interactions between the filaments lead to very small elasticity and minimal suppression of microtubule buckling. As a consequence, the observed mechanical responses within composite networks can very likely not be explained without considering specific interactions between actin and microtubules.

Keywords: Numerical simulation; Cell mechanics; Composite network