Microtubules on the Move

What am I looking at?

This is a video of fluorescently labeled microtubules being moved by the addition of kinesin motor proteins.

Biology in the background

Microtubules are protein fibers that facilitate the transport of cellular components throughout a cell’s interior. Within a cell, microtubules span from the nucleus to the cell membrane, and the motor protein kinesin “walks” along them, carrying cargo from one area of the cell to another. However, this system can be tailored in vitro (in a lab) to generate completely different motion. As seen in this video, instead of the kinesin protein “walking” along the microtubules, the “motors” are pushing the microtubules around.

The waves that this phenomenon produces are a fascinating view into how biologically active systems and their self-organization could potentially be harnessed into new materials with emergent collective behaviors.

These microtubules are about 25 nanometers across, or roughly 3,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

Technique

This video was created using confocal microscopy.