Emergent mechanics of actomyosin drive punctuated contractions and shape network morphology in the cell cortex
Fig 9
Generic cross linkers do not stabilize aligned F-actin arrays.
To test whether cross-linkers (yellow) can stabilize previously aligned filaments (red) and inhibit aster formation we prepared an aligned array of F-actin for the start of a simulation. Filament plus-ends are initially distributed randomly throughout the hexagon with their orientation between 0 and 22.5°. Cross-linkers bind at the same rate as motors (p0) to filament pairs that are within π/8 degrees of each other and no more than 40 nm apart. The simulation was run with 1,250 cross-linkers and 3,750 myosin motors (not shown). The filament asters form, albeit with distinct intermediate morphologies despite the prior alignment of filaments. Biophysical parameters guiding filaments and motors in these simulations are the standard set (see S1 Table for details).