dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaFission of a multiphase membrane tube
| Authors | Jean-Marc Allain, Cornelis Storm, Aurelien Roux, Martine Ben Amar, Jean-Francois Joanny |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0404086 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0404086 |
| DOI | 10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.158104 |
Abstract
A common mechanism for intracellular transport is the use of controlled deformations of the membrane to create spherical or tubular buds. While the basic physical properties of homogeneous membranes are relatively well-known, the effects of inhomogeneities within membranes are very much an active field of study. Membrane domains enriched in certain lipids in particular are attracting much attention, and in this Letter we investigate the effect of such domains on the shape and fate of membrane tubes. Recent experiments have demonstrated that forced lipid phase separation can trigger tube fission, and we demonstrate how this can be understood purely from the difference in elastic constants between the domains. Moreover, the proposed model predicts timescales for fission that agree well with experimental findings.
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"date_created": "2026-03-02T18:00:50.481000Z",
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"abstract": "A common mechanism for intracellular transport is the use of controlled\ndeformations of the membrane to create spherical or tubular buds. While the\nbasic physical properties of homogeneous membranes are relatively well-known,\nthe effects of inhomogeneities within membranes are very much an active field\nof study. Membrane domains enriched in certain lipids in particular are\nattracting much attention, and in this Letter we investigate the effect of such\ndomains on the shape and fate of membrane tubes. Recent experiments have\ndemonstrated that forced lipid phase separation can trigger tube fission, and\nwe demonstrate how this can be understood purely from the difference in elastic\nconstants between the domains. Moreover, the proposed model predicts timescales\nfor fission that agree well with experimental findings.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0404086",
"authors": [
"Jean-Marc Allain",
"Cornelis Storm",
"Aurelien Roux",
"Martine Ben Amar",
"Jean-Francois Joanny"
],
"categories": [
"physics.bio-ph",
"q-bio.SC"
],
"doi": "10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.158104",
"title": "Fission of a multiphase membrane tube",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0404086"
},
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"source": {
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