Cytoskeletal Networks

We investigate the transport properties of colloidal particles and DNA molecules in cytoskeleton networks made of entangled and/or cross-linked actin and microtubule filaments. Lab members use DDM and light-sheet microscopy with in vitro networks to measure how the crowded biopolymer networks impede motion of particles and macromolecules.

Team members:

Ryan McGorty

Associate Professor of Physics and Biophysics at USD

Devynn Wulstein

Undergraduate Student
Alumni

Christelle Matsuda

Undergraduate Student
Alumni

Hannah Rasmussen

Undergraduate Student
Alumni

Karthik Reddy Peddireddy

Post-doc

Gina Aguirre

Undergraduate Student
Alumni

Jonathan Garamella

Former post-doc

Gregor Leech

Post-bac researcher

Publications on topic:

Design and Building of a Customizable, Single-Objective, Light-Sheet Fluorescence Microscope for the Visualization of Cytoskeleton Networks Nathan Felcher, Daisy Achiriloaie, Brian Lee, *Ryan McGorty*, Janet Sheung Published in JoVE, January 2024 (see publication) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Light Sheet Microscopy

Kinesin and myosin motors compete to drive rich multi-phase dynamics in programmable cytoskeletal composites *Ryan McGorty*, Christopher Currie, Jonathan Michel, Mehrzad Sasanpour, Christopher Gunter, K Alice Lindsay, Michael J Rust, Moumita Das, Jennifer L Ross, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Published in PNAS Nexus, July 2023 (see publication) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Motor-driven advection competes with crowding to drive spatiotemporally heterogeneous transport in cytoskeleton composites Janet Y. Sheung, *Jonathan Garamella*, Stella K. Kahl, Brian Y. Lee, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Published in Frontiers in Physics, November 2022 (see publication) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Reconstituting and Characterizing Actin-Microtubule Composites with Tunable Motor-Driven Dynamics and Mechanics Mehrzad Sasanpour, Daisy H. Achiriloaie, Gloria Lee, *Gregor Leech*, Christopher Currie, K. Alice Lindsay, Jennifer L. Ross, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Published in JoVE, August 2022 (see publication) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks

Quantifying Cytoskeleton Dynamics Using Differential Dynamic Microscopy Hannah N. Verwei, Gloria Lee, *Gregor Leech*, Irene Isturiz Petitjean, Gijsje H. Koenderink, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson, *Ryan McGorty* Published in JoVE, June 2022 (see publication) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Active cytoskeletal composites display emergent tunable contractility and restructuring Gloria Lee, *Gregor Leech*, Pancy Lwin, Jonathan Michel, Christopher Currie, Michael J. Rust, Jennifer L. Ross, *Ryan McGorty*, Moumita Das, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Published in Soft Matter, October 2021 (see publication) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks

Subtle changes in crosslinking drive diverse anomalous transport characteristics in actin-microtubule networks Sylas Anderson, *Jonathan Garamella*, Serenity Adalbert, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M Robertson-Anderson Published in Soft Matter, March 2021 (see publication) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Myosin-driven actin-microtubule networks exhibit self-organized contractile dynamics Gloria Lee, *Gregor Leech*, Michael J. Rust, Moumita Das, *Ryan McGorty*, Jennifer L. Ross, Rae M Robertson-Anderson Published in Science Advances, February 2021 (see publication) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Anomalous and heterogeneous DNA transport in biomimetic cytoskeleton networks *Jonathan Garamella*, Kathryn Regan, *Gina Aguirre*, *Ryan J McGorty*, Rae M Robertson-Anderson Published in Soft Matter, July 2020 (see publication) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Light Sheet Microscopy

Topology-dependent anomalous dynamics of ring and linear DNA are sensitive to cytoskeleton crosslinking *Devynn Wulstein*, Kathryn Regan, *Jonathan Garamella*, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M Robertson-Anderson Published in Science Advances, December 2019 (see publication) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy, Light Sheet Microscopy

Filament Rigidity Vies with Mesh Size in Determining Anomalous Diffusion in Cytoskeleton Sylas J. Anderson, *Christelle Matsuda*, *Jonathan Garamella*, *Karthik Reddy Peddireddy Rae M Robertson-Anderson*, *Ryan McGorty* Published in Biomacromolecules, November 2019 (see publication) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy, Light Sheet Microscopy

Bridging the spatiotemporal scales of macromolecular transport in crowded biomimetic systems Kathryn Regan, *Devynn Wulstein*, *Hannah Rasmussen*, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Published in Soft Matter, February 2019 (see publication) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy, Light Sheet Microscopy

Presentations:

High Throughput Screening towards the Rational Design of Active Matter Rae M. Robertson-Anderson, Jonathan A. Michel, Qiaopeng Chen, *Karthik Reddy Peddireddy*, Michael J. Rust, Jennifer L. Ross, Moumita Das, *Ryan McGorty*, Megan T. Valentine Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2024 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks

Nonlinear local straining leads to non-equilibrium deformation fields and dynamics of motor-driven cytoskeleton composites Mehrzad Sasanpour, Daisy H. Achiriloaie, Maya Hendija, *Karthik R. Peddireddy*, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2023 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Nonlinear Mechanics and Stress Propagation in Out-of-Equilibrium Cytoskeleton Composites Daisy H. Achiriloaie, Kit K. Bennett, Mehrzad Sasanpour, *Karthik Peddireddy*, Michael J. Rust, Moumita Das, Megan T. Valentine, Janet Y. Sheung, Jennifer L. Ross, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2023 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Motor-driven advection competes with crowding to drive spatiotemporally heterogeneous transport in cytoskeleton composites Brian Y. Lee, Janet Y. Sheung, *Jonathan Garamella*, Stella Kahl, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2023 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Motor-driven advection competes with macromolecular crowding to drive spatiotemporally heterogeneous transport in cytoskeleton composites Janet Y. Sheung, *Jonathan Garamella*, Stella Kahl, Brian Y. Lee, Nadia Schwartz Bolef, Daisy H. Achiriloaie, Jennifer L. Ross, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2023 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

DNA transport within confined motor-driven cytoskeletal networks *Mehdi Shafiei Aporvari*, *Philip Neill*, Daisy H. Achiriloaie, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2023 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Optical tweezers and DDM characterize time-varying strain fields in kinesin-driven cytoskeleton composites Mehrzad Sasanpour, Daisy Achiriloaie, *Karthik Peddireddy*, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae Robertson-Anderson Presented at Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, February 2023 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks

Mechanics and stress propagation in non-equilibrium cytoskeleton composites Daisy Achiriloaie, Mehrzad Sasanpour, *Karthik Peddireddy*, *Ryan McGorty*, Janet Sheung, Rae Robertson-Anderson Presented at Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, February 2023 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks

DNA dynamics in crowded cell-sized droplets *Mehdi Shafiei Aporvari*, *Steven Dang*, *Juexin Marfai*, Kara Coursey, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2022 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Tunable Non-Equilibrium Dynamics of Motor-Driven Cytoskeleton Composites Daisy H. Achiriloaie, Christopher Currie, Maya Hendija, *Ryan McGorty*, Jennifer L. Ross, Moumita Das, Michael J. Rust, Janet Y. Sheung, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2022 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

DNA transport and conformational dynamics in active cytoskeleton composites *Jonathan Garamella*, Serenity Adalbert, *Gina Aguirre*, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2021 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Differential Dynamic Microscopy of Active Actin-Microtubule Networks *Gregor Leech*, Gloria Lee, Michael Rust, Moumita Das, Jennifer L. Ross, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2021 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Active Restructuring of Myosin-Driven Actin-Microtubule Networks Christopher Currie, Gloria Lee, Michael Rust, Moumita Das, Leila Farhadi, Jennifer L. Ross, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2021 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks

Tuning Dynamics of Myosin-Driven Actin-Microtubule Networks Gloria Lee, *Gregor Leech*, Christopher Currie, Michael Rust, Jennifer L. Ross, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2021 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Anomalous transport across scales in crosslinked actin-microtubule composites Sylas Anderson, *Jonathan Garamella*, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2020 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Non-ergodic transport and conformational dynamics of DNA in biomimetic cytoskeleton networks *Jonathan Garamella*, *Gina Aguirre*, Kathryn Regan, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2020 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Connecting microscale stresses to macromolecular motion in entangled ring-linear DNA blends *Karthik Peddireddy*, Megan C. Lee, *Jonathan Garamella*, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2020 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Ensemble dynamics of large DNA molecules within entangled and crosslinked cytoskeleton networks *Devynn Wulstein*, Kathryn Regan, Shea Ricketts, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson, *Ryan McGorty* Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2019 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Particle-tracking reveals heterogeneous subdiffusion in in vitro cytoskeleton composites Sylas Anderson, *Christelle Matsuda*, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2019 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks

Measure particle diffusion in cytoskeletal networks with light-sheet and differential dynamic microscopy *Christelle Matsuda*, Sylas Anderson, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson, *Ryan McGorty* Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2019 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Diffusion and Conformational Dynamics of Linear and Circular DNA in Crosslinked Cytoskeleton Composites Kathryn Regan, *Devynn Wulstein*, Shea Ricketts, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2019 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy

Selective-plane illumination microscopy to characterize diffusion of DNA in cytoskeletal networks *Devynn Wulstein*, Kathryn Regan, Shea Ricketts, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson, *Ryan McGorty* Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2018 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Differential Dynamic Microscopy, Light Sheet Microscopy

Mobility and Conformational Dynamics of large DNA diffusing through Cytoskeletal Networks Kathryn Regan, Shea Ricketts, *Devynn Wulstein*, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2017 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks, Light Sheet Microscopy

Active microrheology of entangled biopolymer composites link polymer flexibility and length to molecular force response Robert Fitzpatrick, Cole Hauer, Carl Kyrillos, *Ryan McGorty*, Rae M. Robertson-Anderson Presented at APS March Meeting, March 2017 (see published abstract) Research themes: Cytoskeletal Networks