Non-Gaussian curvature distribution of actin-propelled biomimetic colloid trajectories

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Stephan Schmidt - , University of Bayreuth (Author)
  • Jasper Van Der Gucht - , Wageningen University & Research (WUR) (Author)
  • P. Maarten Biesheuvel - , Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (Author)
  • Richard Weinkamer - , Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (Author)
  • Emmanuèle Helfer - , French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) (Author)
  • Andreas Fery - , University of Bayreuth (Author)

Abstract

We analyze the motion of colloids propelled by a comet-like tail of polymerizing actin filaments. The curvature of the particle trajectories deviates strongly from a Gaussian distribution, implying that the underlying microscopic processes are fluctuating in a non-independent manner. Trajectories for beads of different size all showed the same non-Gaussian behavior, while the mean curvature decreased weakly with size. A stochastic simulation that includes nucleation, force-dependent dissociation, growth, and capping of filaments, shows that the non-Gaussian curvature distribution can be explained by a positive feedback mechanism in which attached chains under higher tension are more likely to snap.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1361-1366
Number of pages6
JournalEuropean biophysics journal : with biophysics letters
Volume37
Issue number8
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2008
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

External IDs

PubMed 18491086

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Actin, Propulsion, Stochastic simulation, Trajectory analysis