Persistent and recyclable myosin II minifilaments drive cortical contractility in the early C. elegans embryo

In the early Caenorhabditis elegans embryo, myosin II minifilaments persist as intact units after cortical unbinding and can be recycled over long distances.

• Why it matters: Cortical contractility depends on how myosin minifilaments organize and exchange between cortex and cytoplasm, but their in vivo dynamics and functional implications remain unclear.
• What they did: The study used SIM-TIRF and single-molecule TIRF to track minifilament structure and behaviors, including partition-like events, proto-stress fiber alignment, and sequential unbinding/rebinding, plus photoconversion and numerical simulations.
• The result: Minifilaments are predominantly stationary when bound to actin, and simulations indicate this static behavior is essential for sustaining cortical stress within a continuously remodeling actin network.

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