Dresden 2026 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 12: Cytoskeleton I

BP 12.4: Vortrag

Dienstag, 10. März 2026, 10:30–10:45, BAR/0205

Microtubule mechanics in actin network — •Komal Bhattacharyya, Sarah Köster, and Stefan Klumpp — University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

The cytoskeleton provides structural support while enabling dynamic cellular processes such as growth and migration. Actin filaments and microtubules are key cytoskeletal components: actin is semiflexible, whereas microtubules are comparatively stiff and rod-like. The interplay between these two filament systems underlies many biological behaviors. For example, microtubules exhibit increased resistance to compressive forces when embedded within an actin network. In our work, we use the simulation package Cytosim to investigate composite actin-microtubule networks. In particular, we examine the buckling behavior of microtubules subjected to compressive loads and thermal fluctuations, and how these responses are altered by mechanical coupling to actin. Our results show that the mechanical response of a probe filament such as a microtubule is governed primarily by its immediate local interactions rather than by the bulk properties of the surrounding network. Indicating the actin network can not influence the microtubule dynamics as an uniform elastic medium but only through direct interactions through crosslinkers or molecular motors.

Keywords: Numerical simulation; Filament mechanics; Cytosim; Cytoskeleton mechanics