Physical Forces Determining the Persistency and Centering Precision of Microtubule Asters.

ABSTRACT: In early embryos, microtubules form star-shaped aster structures that can measure up to hundreds of micrometres, and move at high speeds to find the geometrical centre of the cell. This process, known as aster centration, is essential for the fidelity of cell division and development, but how cells succeed in moving these large structures through their crowded and fluctuating cytoplasm remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that the positional fluctuations of migrating sea urchin sperm asters are small, anisotropic, and associated with the stochasticity of dynein-dependent forces moving the aster. Using in vivo magnetic tweezers to directly measure aster forces inside cells, we derive a linear aster force-velocity relationship and provide evidence for a spring-like active mechanism stabiliz

SUBMITTER: Tanimoto H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6071857 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature