Microtubule Length-Regulation by Molecular Motors

Abstract

Length-regulation of microtubules (MTs) is essential for many cellular processes. Molecular motors like kinesin 8, which move along MTs and also act as depolymerases, are known as key players in MT dynamics. However, the regulatory mechanisms of length control remain elusive. Here, we investigate a stochastic model accounting for the interplay between polymerization kinetics and motor-induced depolymerization. We determine the dependence of MT length and variance on rate constants and motor concentration. Moreover, our analyses reveal how collective phenomena lead to a well-defined MT length.

7 pages (5 p. letter, 3 p. supplementary information), 4 figures (3 f. letter, 1 f. supplementary information)

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Cited by in corpus (9)

• Design Principles of Length Control of Cytoskeletal Structures
• Motor proteins traffic regulation by supply-demand balance of resources
• Molecular Mechanisms for Microtubule Length Regulation by Kinesin-8 and XMAP215 Proteins
• Exclusive Queueing Processes and their Application to Traffic Systems
• Feedback Mechanism for Microtubule Length Regulation by Stathmin Gradients
• Tracking of plus-ends reveals microtubule functional diversity in different cell types
• Length regulation of microtubules by molecular motors: Exact solution and density profiles
• Effective ergodicity breaking in an exclusion process with varying system length
• Length distribution of stiff, self-assembled polymers at thermal equilibrium