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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 29: Posters: Biopolymers \& Biomaterials

BP 29.9: Poster

Thursday, March 17, 2011, 17:15–20:00, P3

Cooperative dynamics of microtubule ensembles under force — •Björn Zelinski¹ and Jan Kierfeld² — ¹Physics Department, TU Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany — ²Physics Department, TU Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany

We investigate the cooperative dynamics of an ensemble of microtubules growing against an external linear force. Stochastic simulations show that the interplay between force sharing and dynamic instability gives rise to a complex dynamics with synchronous growth, interrupted by cooperative switching into a shrinking state and cooperative rescue back to synchronous growth. We quantify the dynamic behaviour by a mean-field theory, which allows us to estimate the average number of cooperatively pushing microtubules and to calculate the generated ensemble polymerization force and its dependence on microtubule number. We also investigate the dependence on switching rates of the dynamic instability, which can be involved in cellular regulation mechanisms.