Soft Listeria: actin-based propulsion of liquid drops
Soft Condensed Matter
2009-11-10 v1 Biological Physics
Cell Behavior
Abstract
We study the motion of oil drops propelled by actin polymerization in cell extracts. Drops deform and acquire a pear-like shape under the action of the elastic stresses exerted by the actin comet. We solve this free boundary problem and calculate the drop shape taking into account the elasticity of the actin gel and the variation of the polymerization velocity with normal stress. The pressure balance on the liquid drop imposes a zero propulsive force if gradients in surface tension or internal pressure are not taken into account. Quantitative parameters of actin polymerization are obtained by fitting theory to experiment.
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0311620,
title = {Soft Listeria: actin-based propulsion of liquid drops},
author = {Hakim Boukellal and Otger Campàs and Jean-François Joanny and Jacques Prost and Cécile Sykes},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0311620},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
5 pages, 4 figures