2011/03/16 by Ranjith Padinhateeri, Anatoly B. Kolomeisky, David Lacoste
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Chemistry · Medicine · Physics and Astronomy · #Biochemistry #Biology #Biophysics #Cell biology #Chemistry #Erythrocyte Function and Pathophysiology #Hydrolysis #Instability #Mechanics #Microtubule #Microtubule and mitosis dynamics #Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms #Physics #Statistical physics #cond-mat.soft #cond-mat.stat-mech #q-bio.BM
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2011.12.059
published as Biophys. J, 102, 1274 (2012) · 26 pages, 8 figures
arxiv created 2011/03/16 · openalex publication_date 2012/03/01 · arxiv updated 2015/05/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
A simple stochastic model which describes microtubule dynamics and explicitly takes into account the relevant biochemical processes is presented. The model incorporates binding and unbinding of monomers and random phosphate release inside the polymer. It is shown that this theoretical approach provides a microscopic picture of the dynamic instability phenomena of microtubules. The cap size, the concentration dependence of the catastrophe times and the delay before observing catastrophes following a dilution can be quantitatively predicted by this approach in a direct and simple way. Furthermore, the model can be solved analytically to a large extend, thus offering a valuable starting point for more refined studies of microtubules dynamics.