Theoretical treatment of microtubules disappearing in solution.
The origin of the two-phase (cap, no cap) macroscopic kinetic model of the end of a microtubule is reviewed. The model is then applied to a new theoretical problem, namely, the Mitchison-Kirschner [Mitchison, T. & Kirschner, M. W. (1984) Nature (London) 312, 237-242] experiment in which aggregated microtubules in solution spontaneously decrease in number (shorten to disappearance) while the surviving microtubules increase in length. The model fits the experiments without difficulty.
D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D014404:Tubulin / Q000378:metabolism*
D014404:Tubulin; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate