Anomalous dynamics of the endoplasmic reticulum network
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) > t∼τα with α ≈0.5 in untreated cells and α ≈0.3 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 df≈1.6 on mesoscopic scales and we provide evidence that the organelle's dynamics is governed by fractons.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review E
- Pub Date:
- July 2018
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevE.98.012406
- Bibcode:
- 2018PhRvE..98a2406S