title: The enigma of microtubules and their self-organizing behavior in the cytoskeleton.
abstract: The cytoskeleton of eukaryotic cells contains networks of protein polymers called microtubules which structurally and functionally organize their interiors. Both in vivo and in vitro microtubules exhibit a fascinating and yet poorly understood array of important functions involving complex self-organization phenomena which are very sensitive to physiological and laboratory conditions, respectively. In this paper we discuss the main physical characteristics of microtubules focusing our attention on four particular aspects: (a) the dynamics of their assembly and disassembly processes (b) the types and the range of existence of ordered dipolar phases and (c) modes of energy transfer and (d) information processing capabilities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Tuszyński
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Trpisová
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sept
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Satarić
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004735:Energy Transfer; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008870:Microtubules / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008954:Models, Biological; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011487:Protein Conformation; D014404:Tubulin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D014404:Tubulin; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate