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Main Authors: Cao, Zhiyu, Du, Chaoqun, Hou, Zhonghuai, Wolynes, Peter G.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.09873
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author Cao, Zhiyu
Du, Chaoqun
Hou, Zhonghuai
Wolynes, Peter G.
author_facet Cao, Zhiyu
Du, Chaoqun
Hou, Zhonghuai
Wolynes, Peter G.
contents During mitosis, near-spherical chromosomes reconfigure into rod-like structures to ensure their accurate segregation to daughter cells. We explore here, the interplay between the nonequilibrium activity of molecular motors in determining the chromosomal organization in mitosis and its characteristic symmetry-breaking events. We present a hybrid motorized chromosome model that highlights the distinct roles of condensin I and II in shaping mitotic chromosomes. Guided by experimental observations, the simulations suggest that condensin II facilitates large-scale scaffold formation, while condensin I is paramount in local helical loop arrangement. Together, these two distinct grappling motors establish the hierarchical helical structure characteristic of mitotic chromosomes, which exhibit striking local and, sometimes global, chirality and contribute to the robust mechanical properties of mitotic chromosomes. Accompanying the emergence of rigidity, the model provides mechanisms of forming defects, including perversions and entanglements, and shows how these may be partially resolved through condensin activity and topoisomerase action. This framework bridges coarse-grained energy landscape models of chromosome dynamics and non-equilibrium molecular dynamics, advancing the understanding of chromosome organization during cell division and beyond.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_09873
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Motorized Chromosome Models of Mitosis
Cao, Zhiyu
Du, Chaoqun
Hou, Zhonghuai
Wolynes, Peter G.
Biological Physics
Soft Condensed Matter
Statistical Mechanics
During mitosis, near-spherical chromosomes reconfigure into rod-like structures to ensure their accurate segregation to daughter cells. We explore here, the interplay between the nonequilibrium activity of molecular motors in determining the chromosomal organization in mitosis and its characteristic symmetry-breaking events. We present a hybrid motorized chromosome model that highlights the distinct roles of condensin I and II in shaping mitotic chromosomes. Guided by experimental observations, the simulations suggest that condensin II facilitates large-scale scaffold formation, while condensin I is paramount in local helical loop arrangement. Together, these two distinct grappling motors establish the hierarchical helical structure characteristic of mitotic chromosomes, which exhibit striking local and, sometimes global, chirality and contribute to the robust mechanical properties of mitotic chromosomes. Accompanying the emergence of rigidity, the model provides mechanisms of forming defects, including perversions and entanglements, and shows how these may be partially resolved through condensin activity and topoisomerase action. This framework bridges coarse-grained energy landscape models of chromosome dynamics and non-equilibrium molecular dynamics, advancing the understanding of chromosome organization during cell division and beyond.
title Motorized Chromosome Models of Mitosis
topic Biological Physics
Soft Condensed Matter
Statistical Mechanics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.09873