Abstract
Several strategies for controlling microtubule patterns are developed because of the rigidity determined from the molecular structure and the geometrical structure. In contrast to the patterns in co-operation with motor proteins or associated proteins, microtubules have a huge potential for patterns via their intrinsic flexural rigidity. We discover that a microtubule teardrop pattern emerges via self-assembly under hydrodynamic flow from the parallel bundles without motor proteins. In the growth process, the bundles ultimately bend according to the critical bending curvature. Such protein pattern formation utilizing the intrinsic flexural rigidity will provide broad understandings of self-assembly of rigid rods, not only in biomolecules, but also in supramolecules.
Highlights
Several strategies for controlling microtubule patterns are developed because of the rigidity determined from the molecular structure and the geometrical structure
We discover that a microtubule teardrop pattern emerges via self-assembly under hydrodynamic flow from the parallel bundles without motor proteins
The fine motion is achieved by converting chemical energy, e.g., ATP into mechanical energy on a parallel microtubule bundle, which generates hydrodynamic flow
Summary
Several strategies for controlling microtubule patterns are developed because of the rigidity determined from the molecular structure and the geometrical structure. In vitro achieves unique motions and patterns with bending such as the ringshaped assembly of microtubules, the dynamic vortex pattern, or active microtubule networks driven by integration with motor proteins[1,2,3,4] Because of their geometrically determined structure and flexural rigidity, the bending properties of microtubule bundles have been widely researched from the perspective of materials science[5,6,7,8,9]. We introduce remarkable phenomena - that microtubule bundles are capable of bending flexibly under hydrodynamic flow to form teardrop pattern This growth process precisely represents that straight rigid rods with a high-aspect ratio in parallel orientation are converted into a macroscopically-nonlinear structure with pattern formation. The growth mechanism, from the bundles to the teardrop pattern as a higher structure, is verified (Fig. 1A)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
