Transverse fluctuations control the assembly of semiflexible filaments
arXiv:2303.03088 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.228401
Abstract
The kinetics of the assembly of semiflexible filaments through end-to-end annealing is key to the structure of the cytoskeleton, but is not understood. We analyze this problem through scaling theory and simulations, and uncover a regime where filaments ends find each other through bending fluctuations without the need for the whole filament to diffuse. This results in a very substantial speed-up of assembly in physiological regimes, and could help understand the dynamics of actin and intermediate filaments in biological processes such as wound healing and cell division.
Main: 5 pages, 4 figures. Supplementary: 10 pages, 9 figures. To be published in Physical Review Letters