Dynamic properties of bio-motile systems with a liquid-crystalline structure

Abstract

Bio-motile systems have liquid-crystalline structures. This review first describes the contractile system of striated muscle having a smectic liquid crystalline structure. We here report the muscle's auto-oscillatory property named spontaneous oscillatory contraction (SPOC) [1], and a mathematical model to explain its mechanism [2, 3]. Also, sarcomere dynamics observed during heartbeat are described. The second topic is the micromechanics of the meiotic spindle, a bipolar assembly of microtubules with chromosomes [4]. The third topic is the demonstration of a contractile actin ring spontaneously formed inside a water-in-oil droplet, which can be considered as an artificial cell model [5].