Self-organizing motors divide active liquid droplets
Abstract
Self-organized and shape-changing assemblies are fundamental in living systems. However, in synthetic materials, these features remain elusive to reconstruct. Here, we construct liquid droplets out of biological proteins actin and myosin, which are fundamental cellular materials. Since the proteins form filaments, the droplets have internal structure. This structure leads to the self-organization of the protein components, where myosin finds the center of actin droplets, reminiscent of chromosome alignment in cell division. Myosin also strongly interacts with actin, leading to spontaneous shape change and droplet division. These results suggest physical mechanisms of biological processes, while inspiring strategies for soft materials design.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- May 21, 2019
- Source ID
- 10.1073/pnas.1814854116
Entities
People
- Kimberly L Weirich
- Kinjal Dasbiswas
- Margaret Gardel
- Suriyanarayanan Vaikuntanathan
- Thomas Witten
Organizations
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
- Army Research Office
- National Institutes of Health
- National Science Foundation
- University of California
- University of Chicago