Within cells, vesicles and proteins are actively transported several micrometers along the cytoskeletal filaments. The transport along microtubules is propelled by dynein and kinesin motors, which carry the cargo in opposite directions. Bidirectional intracellular transport is performed with great efficiency, even under strong confinement, as for example in the axon. For this kind of transport system, one would expect generically cluster formation. In project A7 of our SFB, lead by Ludger Santen, it was hypothesized that the recently observed self-enhanced binding affinity along the kinesin trajectories on the microtubule has the potential to prevent clustering.They used a theoretical model where the enhanced binding affinity is realized with the help of an additional field. With Monte Carlo simulations and a mean-field analysis they showed that this mechanism can lead to self-organized symmetry breaking and lane formation that indeed leads to efficient bidirectional transport in narrow environments. This work is now published in the renowned journal Physical Review Letters.

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