Actomyosin clusters as active units shaping living matter

Stress generation by the actin cytoskeleton shapes cells and tissues. Despite impressive progress in live imaging and quantitative physical descriptions of cytoskeletal network dynamics, the connection between processes at molecular scales and spatiotemporal patterns at the cellular scale is still unclear. Here, we review studies reporting actomyosin clusters of micrometre size and with lifetimes of several minutes in a large number of organisms, ranging from fission yeast to humans. Such structures have also been found in reconstituted systems in vitro and in theoretical analyses of cytoskeletal dynamics. We propose that tracking these clusters could provide a simple readout for characterising living matter. Spatiotemporal patterns of clusters could serve as determinants of morphogenetic processes that have similar roles in diverse organisms.