dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaDynamics of Microtubule Growth and Catastrophe
| Authors | T. Antal, P. L. Krapivsky, S. Redner, M. Mailman, B. Chakraborty |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | q-bio/0703001 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0703001 |
| DOI | 10.1103/PhysRevE.76.041907 |
| Journal | Phys. Rev. E 76, 041907 (2007) |
Abstract
We investigate a simple model of microtubule dynamics in which a microtubule evolves by: (i) attachment of guanosine triphosphate (GTP) to its end at rate lambda, (ii) GTP converting irreversibly to guanosine diphosphate (GDP) at rate 1, and (iii) detachment of GDP from the end of a microtubule at rate mu. As a function of these elemental rates, the microtubule can grow steadily or its length can fluctuate wildly. A master equation approach is developed to characterize these intriguing features. For mu=0, we find exact expressions for tubule and GTP cap length distributions, as well as a power-law length distributions of GTP and GDP islands. For mu=oo, we find the average time between catastrophes, where the microtubule shrinks to zero length, and extend this approach to also determine the size distribution of avalanches (sequence of consecutive GDP detachment events). We obtain the phase diagram for general rates and verify our predictions by numerical simulations.
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"abstract": "We investigate a simple model of microtubule dynamics in which a microtubule\nevolves by: (i) attachment of guanosine triphosphate (GTP) to its end at rate\nlambda, (ii) GTP converting irreversibly to guanosine diphosphate (GDP) at rate\n1, and (iii) detachment of GDP from the end of a microtubule at rate mu. As a\nfunction of these elemental rates, the microtubule can grow steadily or its\nlength can fluctuate wildly. A master equation approach is developed to\ncharacterize these intriguing features. For mu=0, we find exact expressions for\ntubule and GTP cap length distributions, as well as a power-law length\ndistributions of GTP and GDP islands. For mu=oo, we find the average time\nbetween catastrophes, where the microtubule shrinks to zero length, and extend\nthis approach to also determine the size distribution of avalanches (sequence\nof consecutive GDP detachment events). We obtain the phase diagram for general\nrates and verify our predictions by numerical simulations.",
"arxiv_id": "q-bio/0703001",
"authors": [
"T. Antal",
"P. L. Krapivsky",
"S. Redner",
"M. Mailman",
"B. Chakraborty"
],
"categories": [
"q-bio.QM",
"cond-mat.stat-mech",
"physics.bio-ph",
"q-bio.BM"
],
"doi": "10.1103/PhysRevE.76.041907",
"journal_ref": "Phys. Rev. E 76, 041907 (2007)",
"title": "Dynamics of Microtubule Growth and Catastrophe",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0703001"
},
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