Dynamics of Microtubule Growth and Catastrophe

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dc.creatorAntal, T.
dc.creatorKrapivsky, P. L.
dc.creatorRedner, S.
dc.creatorMailman, M.
dc.creatorChakraborty, B.
dc.date2007-03-01
dc.date2008-04-22
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T09:33:52Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T09:33:52Z
dc.descriptionWe 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.
dc.description12 pages, 6 figures, 2-column revtex4; version 2: published version for PRE; contains various small changes in response to referee comments
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0703001
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0703001
dc.identifierPhys. Rev. E 76, 041907 (2007)
dc.identifierdoi:10.1103/PhysRevE.76.041907
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/159289
dc.subjectQuantitative Methods
dc.subjectStatistical Mechanics
dc.subjectBiological Physics
dc.subjectBiomolecules
dc.titleDynamics of Microtubule Growth and Catastrophe
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