Related papers: Enhancement of cargo processivity by cooperating m…
The stochastic driving force exerted by a single molecular motor (e.g., a kinesin, or myosin) moving on a periodic molecular track (microtubule, actin filament, etc.) is discussed from a general viewpoint open to experimental test. An…
Active transport of biomolecules assisted by motor proteins is imperative for the proper functioning of cellular activities. Inspired by the diffusion of active agents in crowded cellular channels, we computationally investigate the…
The cargo motion in living cells transported by two species of motor protein with different intrinsic directionality is discussed in this study. Similar to single motor movement, cargo steps forward and backward along microtubule…
Molecular motors do not work in isolation {\it in-vivo}. We highlight some of the coordinations, cooperations and competitions that determine the collective properties of molecular motors in eukaryotic cells. In the context of traffic-like…
The stationary states of systems with many molecular motors are studied theoretically for uniaxial and centered (aster-like) arrangements of cytoskeletal filaments using Monte Carlo simulations and a two-state model. Mutual exclusion of…
Cells are strongly out-of-equilibrium systems driven by continuous energy supply. They carry out many vital functions requiring active transport of various ingredients and organelles, some being small, others being large. The cytoskeleton,…
Mixtures of microtubules and molecular motors form active materials with diverse dynamical behaviors that vary based on their constituents' molecular properties. We map the non-equilibrium phase diagram of microtubules and tip-accumulating…
Reconstituted filamentous actin networks with myosin motor proteins form active gels, in which motor proteins generate forces that drive the network far from equilibrium. This motor activity can also strongly affect the network elasticity;…
We have developed several distinct model systems of microtubule-based 3D active isotropic fluids and have compared their dynamical and structural properties. The non-equilibrium dynamics of these fluids is powered by three different types…
Intracellular transport processes driven by molecular motors can be described by stochastic lattice models of self-driven particles. Here we focus on bidirectional transport models excluding the exchange of particles on the same track. We…
The collective dynamics of $N$ weakly coupled processive molecular motors are considered theoretically. We show, using a discrete lattice model, that the velocity-force curves strongly depend on the effective dynamic interactions between…
Many biological processes are supported by special molecules, called motor proteins or molecular motors, that transport cellular cargoes along linear protein filaments and can reversibly associate to their tracks. Stimulated by these…
Recent experiments reveal both passive subdiffusion of various nanoparticles and anomalous active transport of such particles by molecular motors in the molecularly crowded environment of living biological cells. Passive and active…
A variety of complex mechanisms, from chemical reaction pathways to active fluctuations, orchestrate molecular transport in intracellular environments. Despite significant recent progress in visualizing and probing these processes, little…
In active matter systems, self-propelled particles can self-organize to undergo collective motion, leading to persistent dynamical behavior out of equilibrium. In cells, cytoskeletal filaments and motor proteins self-organize into complex…
Individual processive molecular motors, of which conventional kinesin is the most studied quantitatively, move along polar molecular tracks and, by exerting a force ${\bm F} = (F_x,F_y,F_z)$ on a tether, drag cellular cargoes, {\em in…
Non-processive molecular motors have to work together in ensembles in order to generate appreciable levels of force or movement. In skeletal muscle, for example, hundreds of myosin II molecules cooperate in thick filaments. In non-muscle…
We use a two-state ratchet model to study the cooperative bidirectional motion of molecular motors on cytoskeletal tracks with randomly alternating polarities. Our model is based on a previously proposed model [Badoual et al., {\em Proc.…
Cytoskeletal motors known as motor proteins are molecules that drive cellular transport along several parallel cytoskeletal filaments and support many biological processes. Experimental evidences suggest that they interact with the nearest…
In cells, cytoskeletal filament networks are responsible for cell movement, growth, and division. Filaments in the cytoskeleton are driven and organized by crosslinking molecular motors. In reconstituted cytoskeletal systems, motor activity…