University of Hertfordshire Research Archive

        JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

        Browse

        All of UHRABy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitles

        Arkivum Files

        My Downloads
        View Item 
        • UHRA Home
        • University of Hertfordshire
        • Research publications
        • View Item
        • UHRA Home
        • University of Hertfordshire
        • Research publications
        • View Item

        Microtubule dynamic instability: numerical simulation of microtubule transition properties using a Lateral Cap model

        Author
        Bayley, P.M.
        Schilstra, M.
        Martin, S.R.
        Attention
        2299/3905
        Abstract
        We present a numerical formulation for the dynamic instability of microtubules involving the stabilisation of growing microtubules by a single layer of tubulin-GTP, with GTP hydrolysis effectively coupled to tubulin-GTP addition. This Lateral Cap model provides a readily visualised, working mechanism for the co-existence and interconversion of growing and shrinking microtubules. This class of model is specified in terms of a hydrolysis rule, whereby the addition of tubulin-GTP causes hydrolysis of GTP on a previously terminal tubulin-GTP molecule as it becomes incorporated into the microtubule lattice. A specific formulation is illustrated, though this is not unique. A limited set of parameters defines the kinetics and affinity for tubulin-GTP at the binding sites at a given end of the microtubule. The rate constants are a function of the nucleotide composition of the binding site, principally comprising the two tubulin molecules, which interact laterally and longitudinally with the incoming tubulin-GTP molecule. The Lateral Cap formulation demonstrates that a single terminal layer of tubulin-GTP is sufficient to reproduce the apparently complex behaviour of a dynamic population of microtubules. It differs significantly from the fluctuating tubulin-GTP cap model of Chen and Hill (1985). It gives a molecular description to the switching of individual microtubules between growing and shrinking states in terms of the composition of the multi-start terminal layer of the microtubule, and provides a general mechanism for the differential kinetic behaviour at opposite ends of dynamic microtubules. It reproduces the essential features of microtubule length excursions, and predicts detailed characteristics of microtubule dynamics, including the basis of the apparently cooperative nature of the transition behaviour as a function of the concentration of tubulin-GTP. It is readily amenable to further experimental test and refinement.
        Publication date
        1990
        Published in
        Journal of Cell Science
        Other links
        http://hdl.handle.net/2299/3905
        Metadata
        Show full item record
        Keep in touch

        © 2019 University of Hertfordshire

        I want to...

        • Apply for a course
        • Download a Prospectus
        • Find a job at the University
        • Make a complaint
        • Contact the Press Office

        Go to...

        • Accommodation booking
        • Your student record
        • Bayfordbury
        • KASPAR
        • UH Arts

        The small print

        • Terms of use
        • Privacy and cookies
        • Criminal Finances Act 2017
        • Modern Slavery Act 2015
        • Sitemap

        Find/Contact us

        • T: +44 (0)1707 284000
        • E: ask@herts.ac.uk
        • Where to find us
        • Parking
        • hr
        • qaa
        • stonewall
        • AMBA
        • ECU Race Charter
        • disability confident
        • AthenaSwan