Multiscale Microtubule Dynamics in Active Nematics

Abstract

In microtubule-based active nematics, motor-driven extensile motion of microtubule bundles powers chaotic large-scale dynamics. We quantify the interfilament sliding motion both in isolated bundles and in a dense active nematic. The extension speed of an isolated microtubule pair is comparable to the molecular motor stepping speed. In contrast, the net extension in dense 2D active nematics is significantly slower; the interfilament sliding speeds are widely distributed about the average and the filaments exhibit both contractile and extensile relative motion. These measurements highlight the challenge of connecting the extension rate of isolated bundles to the multi-motor and multi-filament interactions present in a dense 2D active nematic. They also provide quantitative data that is essential for building multiscale models.

References in corpus (11)

• Spontaneous motion in hierarchically assembled active matter
• Topological structure and dynamics of three dimensional active nematics
• Self-organized dynamics and the transition to turbulence of confined active nematics
• Tunable structure and dynamics of active liquid crystals
• Solid friction between soft filaments
• Tunable dynamics of microtubule based active isotropic gels
• Statistical Properties of Autonomous Flows in 2D Active Nematics
• Insensitivity of active nematic dynamics to topological constraints
• Measuring cohesion between macromolecular filaments, one pair at a time: Depletion-induced microtubule bundling
• Actively crosslinked microtubule networks: mechanics, dynamics and filament sliding
• Active liquid crystals powered by force-sensing DNA-motor clusters

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Data-driven discovery of active nematic hydrodynamics
• Self-mixing in microtubule-kinesin active fluid from nonuniform to uniform distribution of activity
• Dispersion of activity at an active-passive nematic interface
• Mechanochemical Topological Defects in an Active Nematic