Macroscopic equations for pattern formation in mixtures of microtubules and molecular motors

Ha Youn Lee, Mehran Kardar
2001 Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics  
Inspired by patterns observed in mixtures of microtubules and molecular motors, we propose continuum equations for the evolution of motor density, and microtubule orientation. The chief ingredients are the transport of motors along tubules, and the alignment of tubules in the process. The macroscopic equations lead to aster and vortex patterns in qualitative agreement with experiments. While the early stages of evolution of tubules are similar to coarsening of spins following a quench, the
more » ... angement of motors leads to arrested coarsening at low densities. Even in one dimension, the equations exhibit a variety of interesting behaviors, such as symmetry breaking, moving fronts, and motor localization.
doi:10.1103/physreve.64.056113 pmid:11736020 fatcat:re3zog7lmbfn5aoksmtqrxpy6e