A Mechanism for Cytoplasmic Streaming: Kinesin-Driven Alignment of Microtubules and Fast Fluid Flows.

ABSTRACT: The transport of cytoplasmic components can be profoundly affected by hydrodynamics. Cytoplasmic streaming in Drosophila oocytes offers a striking example. Forces on fluid from kinesin-1 are initially directed by a disordered meshwork of microtubules, generating minor slow cytoplasmic flows. Subsequently, to mix incoming nurse cell cytoplasm with ooplasm, a subcortical layer of microtubules forms parallel arrays that support long-range, fast flows. To analyze the streaming mechanism, we combined observations of microtubule and organelle motions with detailed mathematical modeling. In the fast state, microtubules tethered to the cortex form a thin subcortical layer and undergo correlated sinusoidal bending. Organelles moving in flows along the arrays show velocities that are slow near the c

SUBMITTER: Monteith CE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4939475 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature