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Pattern formation in active cytoskeletal networks

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Published 12 March 2008 Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd
, , Focus on Physics of the Cytoskeleton Citation R Peter et al 2008 New J. Phys. 10 035002 DOI 10.1088/1367-2630/10/3/035002

1367-2630/10/3/035002

Abstract

We present a one-dimensional model combining two of the main features of active biopolymer solutions that have only recently been investigated experimentally, namely the molecular motor driven active transport of filaments and the (visco-)elastic properties of filament networks held together by crosslinkers or entanglement effects. It is shown that the pattern forming mechanisms, associated with the motor-mediated transport of filaments, are substantially altered when coupled to a filament network: in the case of a permanent network, the long-range clustering of filaments changes either to stationary periodic filament density patterning or to propagating pulses. If the network is however viscoelastic, molecular motor activity can lead to traveling or standing filament density waves.

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10.1088/1367-2630/10/3/035002