Distinct disassembly modes shape cytoskeletal assembly and fluctuations

How distinct cytoskeletal structures assemble and maintain their characteristic sizes on different timescales while drawing from a shared pool of subunits remains an open question in cell biology. Experiments indicate that mechanisms promoting the disassembly of these structures and replenishing the pool may play a vital role. Here, we compare two disassembly models: one with a constant monomer loss rate and another that is size dependent, where structures lose filament fragments through severing. Using analytical calculations and simulations, we examine their effects on the assembly of two structure types, filaments and bundles composed of linear filaments, both in isolation and when co-assembling in a shared pool. We find that both models control assembly and regulate structure size in distinct ways. However, the assembly of both structures to their steady-state size is accelerated with severing, accompanied by a faster decay of autocorrelations in their length fluctuations. Moreover, we find that severing can regulate multiple structures assembling from a shared pool, constraining them to defined sizes. Our study identifies key parameters governing assembly kinetics and fluctuation dynamics associated with each disassembly mode, highlights measurable quantities such as coefficient of variation and bundle tapering that can help distinguish between different disassembly mechanisms, and reveals specific signatures of structures assembling in a limited monomer pool. Together, these results provide a framework for experiments to identify assembly-control mechanisms in cytoskeletal structures and elucidate the role specific disassembly modes can have in modulating structure formation and maintenance.