Density-dependent flow generation in active cytoskeletal fluids

The actomyosin cytoskeleton, a protein assembly comprising actin fibers and the myosin molecular motor, drives various cellular dynamics through contractile force generation at high densities. However, the relationship between the density dependence of the actomyosin cytoskeleton and force-controlled ordered structure remains poorly understood. In this study, we measured contraction-driven flow generation by varying the concentration of cell extracts containing the actomyosin cytoskeleton and associated nucleation factors. We observed continuous actin flow toward the center at a critical actomyosin density in cell-sized droplets. The actin flow exhibited an emergent oscillation in which the tracer advection in the bulk solution periodically changed in a stop-and-go fashion. In the vicinity of the actomyosin density where oscillatory dynamics occur, the velocity of tracer particle motion decreases with actomyosin density but exhibits superdiffusive motion. Furthermore, the increase or decrease in myosin activity causes the oscillatory flow generation to become irregular, indicating that the density-dependent flow generation of actomyosin is driven by an interplay between actin density and myosin force generation.