Dresden 2009 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 16: Stochastic Processes

BP 16.3: Talk

Wednesday, March 25, 2009, 16:30–16:45, ZEU 260

Dynamic length regulation in biological transport systems. — •Louis Reese, Anna Melbinger, and Erwin Frey — Arnold Sommerfeld Center for Theoretical Physics (ASC) and Center for NanoScience (CeNS), Department of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Microtubules are highly dynamic filaments that perform a variety of tasks in living cells. At the same time they serve as intracellular highways for molecular motors, which are either transported along those tracks or diffuse in the cytosol [1]. Here we examine mechanisms to regulate microtubule-length through the concentration of motors in the cytosol. It is analyzed how the interplay between density-dependent transport on the tracks, and filament polymerization affects the dynamics of filament length [2]. Employing stochastic simulations complemented by analytic calculus we identify three distinct dynamic regimes: (i) steady growth, (ii) bounded growth and (iii) stationary length. The latter shows interesting intermittent dynamics.

[1] A. Parmeggiani, T. Franosch, E. Frey, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 086601 (2003).

[2] V. Varga, J. Helenius, K. Tanaka, A. A. Hyman, T. U. Tanaka and J. Howard, Nat. Cell Biol. 8, 957 (2006)