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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 12, 2025

Directly Measuring Forces Within Reconstituted Active Microtubule Bundles

Directly Measuring Forces Within Reconstituted Active Microtubule Bundles

Published on: May 10, 2022

Mechanical coupling coordinates microtubule growth.

Bonnibelle K Leeds¹, Katelyn F Kostello¹, Yuna Y Liu¹

¹Physiology & Biophysics Department, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle WA, USA.

Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology

|October 31, 2023

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Mechanical coupling synchronizes microtubule growth during mitosis. This study reveals force-dependent pausing and inherent speed variations coordinate microtubule bundles (k-fibers) for chromosome segregation.

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Last Updated: Jul 12, 2025

Directly Measuring Forces Within Reconstituted Active Microtubule Bundles

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Published on: May 10, 2022

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Published on: March 15, 2014

Self-Assembly of Microtubule Tactoids

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Published on: June 23, 2022

Area of Science:

Cell Biology
Biophysics

Background:

During mitosis, kinetochore-microtubule interactions are crucial for chromosome segregation.
Microtubules within bundles (k-fibers) exhibit coordinated growth and shortening.
Individual microtubule dynamics are intrinsically variable, necessitating regulation for bundle cohesion.

Conclusions:

Mechanical coupling, through force-dependent pausing and inherent speed heterogeneity, synchronizes microtubule growth in k-fibers.
Findings provide a mechanistic basis for microtubule coordination during mitosis.
The study offers a foundation for modeling larger microtubule bundles essential for chromosome segregation in eukaryotes.