Physical Regulation of Microtubule Biomechanics

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The goal of this research is to understand and control the mechanical properties of the cytoskeletal filament called microtubules. Microtubules are nano-scale filaments, and the mechanical properties have ramifications for the shape of cells, cell division, and cell motility. Understanding how the mechanics of single microtubules is controlled is essential for creating an accurate quantitative and predictive model to relate the strength of single microtubules to the strength of the entire cytoskeletal network. This work will systematically measure and model how lattice defects, associated proteins, and post-translational modifications can affect microtubule rigidity. This work represents the first systematic study of how the microtubule lattice can directly affect the mechanics of single microtubules.The proposed approach will reveal new information about how the structure of microtubules can affect its mechanics. The results will have an impact on basic cell biology, since microtubules are essential for many cellular processes. Moreover, microtubules are an entropically-driven, self-assembled system made from identical protein subunits. Elucidating how mechanical properties of this system can be altered by lattice defects, external binding partners, and modifications to the subunits will have ramifications for other self-assembled condensed matter systems made of colloids, polymers, and proteins. Microtubules and their related proteins can be harnessed as a biological-scaffold for nano-scale assemblies. This work will enable bio-engineering of novel bio-memetic materials from the microtubule-cytoskeletal system. Determining the mechanical properties of the individual microtubule structure is essential for future engineering processes that may involve them. The research proposed here is truly interdisiciplinary, combining the fields of condensed matter physics, bio-engineering, materials science, and cell biology.