Nonlinear dynamics of microtubules: biophysical implications.
A recently developed model of nonlinear dynamics for microtubules is further expanded based on the biophysical arguments involving the secondary structure of the constitutive protein tubulin and on the ferroelectric properties of microtubules. It is demonstrated that kink excitations arise due to GTP hydrolysis that causes a dynamical transition in the structure of tubulin. The presence of an intrinsic electric field associated with the structure of a microtubule leads to unidirectional propagation of the kink excitation along the microtubule axis. This mechanism offers an explanation of the dynamic instability phenomenon in terms of the electric field effects. Moreover, a possible elucidation of the unidirectional transport of cargo via motor proteins such as kinesin and dynein is proposed within the model developed in this paper.
Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia 21 000 Serbia and Montenegro.
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MV
Sataric
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JA
Tuszynski
GTP hydrolysis; dynamic instability; ferroelectricity; kink propagation; microtubule; tubulin