Speaker
Description
The forces that mixtures of motorized and passive crosslinking proteins collectively generate between cytoskeletal filaments within our cells are the key drivers of active cellular mechanics. Despite their importance, a unified theory to describe such crosslinking forces has so far been missing.
I'll show the basis of a theory that predicts the forces generated collectively by crosslinking proteins linking two biopolymer filaments from measurable filament and crosslinker properties, using out-of-equilibrium thermodynamics.
This framework allows us to decompose the forces generated by crosslinkers into three separate components: entropic, active, and frictional. In doing so, it offers a clear physical interpretation of the fundamental mechanisms by which crosslinking proteins self-organize and collectively generate forces.
I'll demonstrate the robustness and utility of this framework by applying it to different experimental observations implying passive and motorized crosslinkers, and disentangle the relative contributions of entropic, active, and frictional forces, clarifying how different physical processes underpin collective force production.