Anomalous dynamics of the endoplasmic reticulum network

Konstantin Speckner, Lorenz Stadler, and Matthias Weiss
Phys. Rev. E 98, 012406 – Published 9 July 2018

Abstract

Large portions of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in eukaryotic cells are organized as dynamic networks whose segments are connected by three-way junctions. Here we show that ER junctions move subdiffusively with signatures of fractional Brownian motion and a strong dependence on the cytoskeleton's integrity: The time-averaged mean square displacement scales as r2(τ)tτα with α0.5 in untreated cells and α0.3 when disrupting microtubules, with successive steps being anticorrelated in both cases. We explain our observations by considering ER junctions to move like monomers in (semi)flexible polymer segments immersed in a viscoelastic environment. We also report that ER networks have a nontrivial fractal dimension df1.6 on mesoscopic scales and we provide evidence that the organelle's dynamics is governed by fractons.

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  • Received 22 March 2018
  • Revised 4 June 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.98.012406

©2018 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Physics of Living Systems

Authors & Affiliations

Konstantin Speckner, Lorenz Stadler, and Matthias Weiss*

  • Experimental Physics I, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstrasse 30, D-95447 Bayreuth, Germany

  • *Corresponding author: matthias.weiss@uni-bayreuth.de

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Issue

Vol. 98, Iss. 1 — July 2018

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