Active self-organization and division of nematic droplets

ORAL

Abstract

Recently, experiments have shown that actin filaments which self-organize into tactoids can be deformed and divided by myosin motors. We present a continuum model that accounts for the activity of myosin motors that slide actin filaments according to their polarity. Using simulations and analytical arguments, we demonstrate how our model captures the essential dynamics and morphology observed in experiments. First a single tactoid is formed, then myosin motors bind, accumulate within the tactoid and localize in the droplet midplane. The myosin motors enable the formation of an aster in the tactoids center, which causes the tactoid to deform into two tactoids with myosin motors at their connecting center. By increasing activity we show how a tactoid can fully divide into two and that multiple asters can emerge inside a droplet, dividing it into three daugter tactoids.

*The authors gratefully acknowledge computing time on the Multi-Environment Computer for Exploration and Discovery (MERCED) cluster at UC Merced, which was funded by National Science Foundation Grant No. ACI-1429783.

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Presenters

  • Fabian Schwarzendahl

    • University of California, Merced

Authors

  • Fabian Schwarzendahl

    • University of California, Merced

  • Kimberly Weirich

    • Clemson University
    • Materials Science and Engineering, Clemson University

  • Pierre Ronceray

    • Princeton University
    • Princeton
    • Center for the Physics of Biological Function, Princeton University

  • Kinjal Dasbiswas

    • University of California, Merced
    • Department of Physics, University of California, Merced