Active Gel and Control of Positioning Symmetry

Abstract

Symmetry and symmetry breaking underpin wide range of biological phenomena. We studied positioning mechanism of a nucleus-like cluster driven by actomyosin confined in a water-in-oil droplet capsule as a simplified cell model. We found that periodic actomyosin waves move cluster to the center, while actomyosin bridges contract cluster to the droplet interface. Combining active gel theory and percolation theory, we showed that the positioning symmetry is controlled by the tug-of-war between the two distinct actomyosin structures.