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Fiber plucking by molecular motors yields large emergent contractility in stiff biopolymer networks

TitleFiber plucking by molecular motors yields large emergent contractility in stiff biopolymer networks
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2019
AuthorsRonceray P, Broedersz CP, Lenz M
JournalSoft Matter
Volume15
Issue7
Pagination1481 - 1487
Date PublishedFeb-21-2020
ISSN1744-683X
Abstract

The mechanical properties of the cell depend crucially on the tension of its cytoskeleton, a biopolymer network that is put under stress by active motor proteins. While the fibrous nature of the network is known to strongly affect the transmission of these forces to the cellular scale, our understanding of this process remains incomplete. Here we investigate the transmission of forces through the network at the individual filament level, and show that active forces can be geometrically amplified as a transverse motor-generated force "plucks'' the fiber and induces a nonlinear tension. In stiff and densely connected networks, this tension results in large network-wide tensile stresses that far exceed the expectation drawn from a linear elastic theory. This amplification mechanism competes with a recently characterized network-level amplification due to fiber buckling, suggesting that that fiber networks provide several distinct pathways for living systems to amplify their molecular forces.

URLhttp://xlink.rsc.org/?DOI=C8SM00979Ahttp://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2019/SM/C8SM00979A
DOI10.1039/C8SM00979A
Short TitleSoft Matter
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