THE ENIGMA OF MICROTUBULES AND THEIR SELF-ORGANIZING BEHAVIOR IN THE CYTOSKELETON

The cytoskeleton of eukaryotic cells contains networks of protein poly mers called microtubules which structurally and functionally organize their interiors. Both in vivo and in vitro microtubules exhibit a fasc inating and yet poorly understood array of important functions involvi ng complex self-organization phenomena which are very sensitive to phy siological and laboratory conditions, respectively. In this paper we d iscuss the main physical characteristics of microtubules focusing our attention on four particular aspects: (a) the dynamics of their assemb ly and disassembly processes (b) the types and the range of existence of ordered dipolar phases and (c) modes of energy transfer and (d) inf ormation processing capabilities. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Lt d.