Open AccessDynamic instability of microtubules as an efficient way to search in space.
Author(s) -
Timothy E. Holy,
Stanislas Leibler
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.91.12.5682
Subject(s) - prometaphase , instability , microtubule , mitosis , biophysics , biological system , physics , computer science , biology , cell , microbiology and biotechnology , mechanics , cell cycle , genetics , anaphase
During the formation of the mitotic spindle, dynamic microtubules search for chromosomes in the surrounding cytosol. The average time required to reach such "targets" is calculated within a simple model of dynamic instability. The values of the dynamic parameters that minimize this search time are also obtained. The results approximate well observations of the capture of chromosomes in prometaphase cells. Compared to usual reversible polymerization, dynamic instability reduces the time required to find a target by several orders of magnitude.