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A model for polar filaments interacting via molecular motor complexes is investigated which exhibits bifurcations to spatial patterns. It is shown that the homogeneous distribution of filaments, such as actin or microtubules, may become…
We model the effects of confinement on the stable self-organized patterns obtained in the non-equilibrium steady states of mixtures of molecular motors and microtubules. In experiments [Nedelec et al. Nature, 389, 305 (1997); Surrey et al.,…
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…
We present experimental and theoretical studies of the dynamics of molecular motors in microtubule arrays and asters. By solving a convection-diffusion equation we find that the density profile of motors in a two-dimensional aster is…
Microtubules (MTs) nucleated by centrosomes form star-shaped structures referred to as asters. Aster motility and dynamics is vital for genome stability, cell division, polarization and differentiation. Asters move either towards the cell…
We derive a model describing spatio-temporal organization of an array of microtubules interacting via molecular motors. Starting from a stochastic model of inelastic polar rods with a generic anisotropic interaction kernel we obtain a set…
We derive a model describing spatio-temporal organization of an array of microtubules interacting via molecular motors. Starting from a stochastic model of inelastic polar rods with a generic anisotropic interaction kernel we obtain a set…
Robust self-organization of subcellular structures is a key principle governing the dynamics and evolution of cellular life. In fission yeast cells undergoing division, the mitotic spindle spontaneously emerges from the interaction of…
Systems with two species of active molecular motors moving on (cytoskeletal) filaments into opposite directions are studied theoretically using driven lattice gas models. The motors can unbind from and rebind to the filaments. Two motors…
In the presence of ATP, molecular motors generate active force dipoles that drive suspensions of protein filaments far from thermodynamic equilibrium, leading to exotic dynamics and pattern formation. Microscopic modelling can help to…
Microtubule (MT) radial arrays or asters establish the internal topology of a cell by interacting with organelles and molecular motors. We proceed to understand the general pattern forming potential of aster-motor systems using a…
We propose and study a hydrodynamic model for pattern formation in mixtures of molecular motors and microtubules. The steady state patterns we obtain in different regimes of parameter space include arrangements of vortices and asters…
During cell division, sister chromatids are segregated by the mitotic spindle, a bipolar assembly of interdigitating antiparallel polar filaments called microtubules. Establishing a stable overlap region is essential for maintenance of…
Inspired by patterns observed in mixtures of microtubules and molecular motors, we propose continuum equations for the evolution of motor density, and microtubule orientation. The chief ingredients are the transport of motors along tubules,…
We study the dynamics and phase behaviour of a dry suspension of microtubules and molecular motors. We obtain a set of continuum equations by rigorously coarse graining a microscopic model where motor-induced interactions lead to parallel…
Microtubules and motor proteins self organize into biologically important assemblies including the mitotic spindle and the centrosomal microtubule array. Outside of cells, microtubule-motor mixtures can form novel active liquid-crystalline…
The centrosomal aster is a mobile cellular organelle that exerts and transmits forces necessary for nuclear migration and spindle positioning. Recent experimental and theoretical studies of nematode and human cells demonstrate that pulling…
Active gels are a class of biologically-relevant material containing embedded agents that spontaneously generate forces acting on a sparse filament network. In vitro experiments of protein filaments and molecular motors have revealed a…
We study the dynamics of an entangled, isotropic solution of polar filaments coupled by molecular motors which generate relative motion of the filaments in two and three dimensions. We investigate the stability of the homogeneous state for…
Active matter systems evade the constraints of thermal equilibrium, leading to the emergence of intriguing collective behavior. A paradigmatic example is given by motor-filament mixtures, where the motion of motor proteins drives alignment…