Inferring scale-dependent non-equilibrium activity using carbon nanotubes

In living systems, irreversible, yet stochastic, molecular interactions form multiscale structures (such as cytoskeletal networks), which mediate processes (such as cytokinesis and cellular motility) in a close relationship between the structure and function. However, owing to a lack of methods to quantify non-equilibrium activity, their dynamics remain poorly characterized. Here, by measuring the time-reversal asymmetry encoded in the conformational dynamics of filamentous single-walled carbon nanotubes embedded in the actomyosin network of Xenopus egg extract, we characterize the multiscale dynamics of non-equilibrium activity encoded in bending-mode amplitudes. Our method is sensitive to distinct perturbations to the actomyosin network and the concentration ratio of adenosine triphosphate to adenosine diphosphate. Thus, our method can dissect the functional coupling of microscopic dynamics to the emergence of larger scale non-equilibrium activity. We relate the spatiotemporal scales of non-equilibrium activity to the key physical parameters of a semiflexible filament embedded in a non-equilibrium viscoelastic environment. Our analysis provides a general tool to characterize steady-state non-equilibrium activity in high-dimensional spaces.