Fig. 1.

Preparation of MTs and control of their swarming. a Conjugation of r-DNA to azide-functionalized MTs by a click reaction. b TAMRA (red) and FAM (green) labeled DNA-conjugated MTs with sequences of T₁₆ (r-DNA1) and (TTG)₅ (r-DNA2), respectively. Scale bar: 5 µm. c Schematic of red and green MTs gliding on kinesins. d Time-lapse images showing motility of rigid MTs with lengths of 5 ± 2 and 5 ± 3 µm (average ± s.d.) conjugated to T₁₆ and (TTG)₅, respectively. Scale bar: 10 µm. e Schematic of the association of red and green MTs by l-DNA1 and their dissociation by d-DNA via extraction of l-DNA1 through a DNA strand exchange reaction. f Association and dissociation of MTs by DNA base pair interaction. g Time-lapse images showing swarming of MTs. h Dissociation of swarms of MTs. Scale bar: 20 µm (g and h). i Change of association ratio over time after introduction of l-DNA1 (0.6 µM) and d-DNA (0.6 µM). The concentration of the red and green MTs was 0.6 µM each, and the kinesin concentration was 0.3 µM. Error bar: standard error (s.e.m.)