TY - JOUR
T1 - Assembly and positioning of microtubule asters in microfabricated chambers
AU - Holy, Timothy E.
AU - Dogterom, Marileen
AU - Yurke, Bernard
AU - Leibler, Stanislas
PY - 1997/6/10
Y1 - 1997/6/10
N2 - Intracellular organization depends on a variety of molecular assembly processes; while some of these have been studied in simplified cell-free systems, others depend on the confined geometry of cells and cannot be reconstructed using bulk techniques. To study the latter processes in vitro, we fabricated microscopic chambers that simulate the closed environment of cells. We used these chambers to study the positioning of microtubule asters. Microtubule assembly alone, without the action of molecular motors, is sufficient to position asters. Asters with short microtubules move toward the position expected from symmetry; however, once the microtubules become long enough to buckle, symmetry is broken. Calculations and experiments show that the bending-energy landscape has multiple minima. Microtubule dynamic instability modifies the landscape over time and allows asters to explore otherwise inaccessible configurations.
AB - Intracellular organization depends on a variety of molecular assembly processes; while some of these have been studied in simplified cell-free systems, others depend on the confined geometry of cells and cannot be reconstructed using bulk techniques. To study the latter processes in vitro, we fabricated microscopic chambers that simulate the closed environment of cells. We used these chambers to study the positioning of microtubule asters. Microtubule assembly alone, without the action of molecular motors, is sufficient to position asters. Asters with short microtubules move toward the position expected from symmetry; however, once the microtubules become long enough to buckle, symmetry is broken. Calculations and experiments show that the bending-energy landscape has multiple minima. Microtubule dynamic instability modifies the landscape over time and allows asters to explore otherwise inaccessible configurations.
KW - Centering
KW - Centrosome
KW - Microtubule-organizing center
KW - Polymerization force
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0030973208&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.94.12.6228
DO - 10.1073/pnas.94.12.6228
M3 - Article
C2 - 9177199
AN - SCOPUS:0030973208
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 94
SP - 6228
EP - 6231
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 12
ER -