dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaAnalysis of a microscopic stochastic model of microtubule dynamic instability
| Authors | Gennady Margolin, Ivan V. Gregoretti, Holly V. Goodson, Mark S. Alber |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | q-bio/0604023 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0604023 |
| DOI | 10.1103/PhysRevE.74.041920 |
| Journal | PHYSICAL REVIEW E 74, 041920 (2006) |
Abstract
A novel theoretical model of dynamic instability of a system of linear (1D) microtubules (MTs) in a bounded domain is introduced for studying the role of a cell edge in vivo and analyzing the effect of competition for a limited amount of tubulin. The model differs from earlier models in that the evolution of MTs is based on the rates of single unit (e.g., a heterodimer per protofilament) transformations, in contrast to postulating effective rates/frequencies of larger-scale changes, extracted, e.g., from the length history plots of MTs. Spontaneous GTP hydrolysis with finite rate after polymerization is assumed, and theoretical estimates of an effective catastrophe frequency as well as other parameters characterizing MT length distributions and cap size are derived. We implement a simple cap model which does not include vectorial hydrolysis. We demonstrate that our theoretical predictions, such as steady state concentration of free tubulin, and parameters of MT length distributions, are in agreement with the numerical simulations. The present model establishes a quantitative link between microscopic parameters governing the dynamics of MTs and macroscopic characteristics of MTs in a closed system. Lastly, we use a computational Monte Carlo model to provide an explanation for non-exponential MT length distributions observed in experiments. In particular, we show that appearance of such non-exponential distributions in the experiments can occur because the true steady state has not been reached, and/or due to the presence of a cell edge.
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"abstract": "A novel theoretical model of dynamic instability of a system of linear (1D)\nmicrotubules (MTs) in a bounded domain is introduced for studying the role of a\ncell edge in vivo and analyzing the effect of competition for a limited amount\nof tubulin. The model differs from earlier models in that the evolution of MTs\nis based on the rates of single unit (e.g., a heterodimer per protofilament)\ntransformations, in contrast to postulating effective rates/frequencies of\nlarger-scale changes, extracted, e.g., from the length history plots of MTs.\nSpontaneous GTP hydrolysis with finite rate after polymerization is assumed,\nand theoretical estimates of an effective catastrophe frequency as well as\nother parameters characterizing MT length distributions and cap size are\nderived. We implement a simple cap model which does not include vectorial\nhydrolysis. We demonstrate that our theoretical predictions, such as steady\nstate concentration of free tubulin, and parameters of MT length distributions,\nare in agreement with the numerical simulations. The present model establishes\na quantitative link between microscopic parameters governing the dynamics of\nMTs and macroscopic characteristics of MTs in a closed system. Lastly, we use a\ncomputational Monte Carlo model to provide an explanation for non-exponential\nMT length distributions observed in experiments. In particular, we show that\nappearance of such non-exponential distributions in the experiments can occur\nbecause the true steady state has not been reached, and/or due to the presence\nof a cell edge.",
"arxiv_id": "q-bio/0604023",
"authors": [
"Gennady Margolin",
"Ivan V. Gregoretti",
"Holly V. Goodson",
"Mark S. Alber"
],
"categories": [
"q-bio.SC",
"q-bio.CB",
"q-bio.QM"
],
"doi": "10.1103/PhysRevE.74.041920",
"journal_ref": "PHYSICAL REVIEW E 74, 041920 (2006)",
"title": "Analysis of a microscopic stochastic model of microtubule dynamic instability",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0604023"
},
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