Emergence of Metachronal Waves in Active Microtubule Arrays

Abstract

The physical mechanism behind the spontaneous formation of metachronal waves in microtubule arrays in a low Reynolds number fluid has been of interest for the past several years, yet is still not well understood. We present a model implementing the hydrodynamic coupling hypothesis from first principles, and use this model to simulate kinesin-driven microtubule arrays and observe their emergent behavior. The results of simulations are compared to known experimental observations by Sanchez et al. By varying parameters, we determine regimes in which the metachronal wave phenomenon emerges, and categorize other types of possible microtubule motion outside these regimes.