DNA-controlled Spatio-temporal Patterning of a Cytoskeletal Active Gel

Abstract

Molecular programs and active matter appear as two key ingredients for the emergence of shape in living systems. The former process chemical information, while the latter generates long-range mechanical forces. The coupling of these two elements is thus essential for the synthesis of life-like materials. Here, we describe the preparation of DNA-responsive surfaces that shape a cm-scale tridimensional active gel comprised of microtubules: a DNA signal triggers the gel, structuring it into a periodic band pattern or local aggregates, depending on its sequence and concentration. Finally, we show how a gradient of DNA concentration transfers its positional information to the active gel, mimicking chemo-mechanical patterning promoted by morphogens during embryo development. We anticipate that such DNA-controlled active matter will contribute to the development of life-like materials with self-shaping properties.

Programmed mechano-chemical coupling in reaction-diffusion active matter

“…The chemical subsystem is programmable because the reaction network is encoded in the sequence of DNA strands (47), while the mechanical subsystem can be heuristically designed thanks to the diversity of motors and filament-binding proteins available (48). In addition, the implementation of the reverse chemo-mechanical coupling, from chemistry to mechanics, recently described (49) and complementary to the one discussed here, would allow the investigation of self-organization in bidirectionally coupled subsystems. The future investigation of the coupling between two different self-organizing systems will help in the understanding of how macro-scale patterns and structures emerge from microscopic components in nonequilibrium systems (4).…”