Measuring and Simulating Cellular Flows during Spindle Positioning

ORAL

Abstract

A cell is a complex fluidic environment in which fundamental biological processes take place. One such process is the proper positioning and elongation of the mitotic spindle which is crucial for chromosome segregation and cell division, and involves the interaction of microtubule assemblies with motor-proteins and subcellular organelles. In a combined experimental and computational study, we use cytoplasmic flow measurements and computational fluid dynamics to argue that proper positioning is primarily achieved by the action of motor-proteins bound to the cell boundary.

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Authors

  • Ehssan Nazockdast

    • University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

  • Haiyin Wu

    • Harvard University

  • Daniel Needleman

    • Harvard University

  • Michael Shelley

    • Simons Foundation and New York University
    • Flatiron Institute
    • Flatiron Institute, NY and Courant Institute, NYU
    • Center for Computational Biology, Simons Foundation and Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
    • Center for Computational Biology, Simons Foundation and Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University