Non-equilibrium phase transitions in tubulation by molecular motors

TL;DR

This paper investigates how molecular motors extract membrane tubes, revealing a complex phase diagram with shocks, plateaux, and reentrant behavior that could be experimentally observed, advancing understanding of cellular transport mechanisms.

Contribution

It introduces a generic model for membrane tube extraction by molecular motors, uncovering novel phase behaviors and reentrant phenomena not previously characterized.

Findings

Motor density can show shocks, inverse shocks, and plateaux.

The phase diagram exhibits reentrant behavior.

Results suggest experimental probing of phase transitions is possible.

Abstract

The extraction of membrane tubes by molecular motors is known to play an important role for the transport properties of eukaryotic cells. By studying a generic class of models for the tube extraction, we discover a rich phase diagram. In particular we show that the density of motors along the tube can exhibit shocks, inverse shocks and plateaux, depending on parameters which could in principle be probed experimentally. In addition the phase diagram exhibits interesting reentrant behavior.