2021/12/14 by Amer Al-Hiyasat, Al-Hiyasat, Amer, Yazgan Tuna +5
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Biological Physics (physics.bio-ph) #Cellular Mechanics and Interactions #Cellular transport and secretion #FOS: Biological sciences #FOS: Physical sciences #Microtubule and mitosis dynamics #Subcellular Processes (q-bio.SC)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2112.07757
openalex publication_date 2021/12/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The control of biopolymer length is mediated by proteins that localize to polymer ends and regulate polymerization dynamics. Several mechanisms have been proposed to achieve end localization. Here, we propose a novel mechanism by which a protein that binds to a shrinking polymer and slows its shrinkage will be spontaneously enriched at the shrinking end through a "herding" effect. We formalize this process using both a lattice-gas model and a continuum description, and we present experimental evidence that the microtubule regulator spastin employs this mechanism. Our findings extend to more general problems involving diffusion within shrinking domains.