GEOMETRIC FEATURES OF MICROTUBULE DYNAMICS

Microtubules are long and stiff polymers that form the cytoskeleton of eucaryotic cells. They perform a series of tasks, such as determining the cell shape and providing a network of ''rails'' along which molec ular motors transport organelles to different parts of the cell. They are particularly important during the process of cell division, since they provide the forces by which replicated chromosomes are segregated into what will be the two daughter cells. Microtubules are formed fro m a protein called tubulin and undergo a process called dynamic instab ility. In this paper we study, via numerical simulations of some simpl ified models, how the interaction between microtubules and the diffusi on of free tubulin affects their spatial organization. (C) 1998 Elsevi er Science B.V. All rights reserved.