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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 58: Cytoskeletal Filaments

BP 58.3: Talk

Thursday, March 10, 2016, 10:15–10:30, H44

Why microtubules run in circles — •Falko Ziebert¹, Herve Mohrbach², and Igor Kulic³ — ¹Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, 79104 Freiburg, Germany — ²Groupe BioPhysStat, LCP-A2MC, Université de Lorraine, 57078 Metz, France — ³Institut Charles Sadron UPR22-CNRS, 67034 Strasbourg, France

The fate of every eukaryotic cell subtly relies on the exceptional mechanical properties of microtubules. Despite significant efforts, understanding their unusual mechanics remains elusive. One persistent, unresolved mystery is the formation of long-lived arcs and rings, e.g., in kinesin-driven gliding assays. To elucidate their physical origin we develop a model of the inner workings of the microtubule lattice, based on recent experimental evidence for a conformational switch of the tubulin dimer. We show that the microtubule lattice itself coexists in discrete polymorphic states. Metastable curved states can be induced via a mechanical hysteresis involving torques and forces typical of few molecular motors acting in unison, in agreement with the observations.