کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
---|---|---|---|---|
1865900 | 1037893 | 2008 | 6 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |
In this Letter we propose a microscopic model to study the polymerization of microtubules (MTs). Starting from fundamental reactions during MT's assembly and disassembly processes, we systematically derive a nonlinear system of equations that determines the dynamics of microtubules in 3D. We found that the dynamics of an MT is mathematically expressed via a cubic–quintic nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation. Interestingly, the generic 3D solution of the NLS equation exhibits linear growing and shortening in time as well as temporal fluctuations about a mean value which are qualitatively similar to the dynamic instability of MTs observed experimentally. By solving equations numerically, we have found spatio-temporal patterns consistent with experimental observations.
Journal: Physics Letters A - Volume 372, Issue 47, 24 November 2008, Pages 7051–7056