title: Microtubule teardrop patterns.
abstract: Several strategies for controlling microtubule patterns are developed because of the rigidity determined from the molecular structure and the geometrical structure. In contrast to the patterns in co-operation with motor proteins or associated proteins, microtubules have a huge potential for patterns via their intrinsic flexural rigidity. We discover that a microtubule teardrop pattern emerges via self-assembly under hydrodynamic flow from the parallel bundles without motor proteins. In the growth process, the bundles ultimately bend according to the critical bending curvature. Such protein pattern formation utilizing the intrinsic flexural rigidity will provide broad understandings of self-assembly of rigid rods, not only in biomolecules, but also in supramolecules.
authors.affiliation: RIKEN Advanced Science Institute, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
authors.forename: Kosuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okeyoshi
authors.affiliation: RIKEN Advanced Science Institute, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryuzo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kawamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.affiliation: RIKEN Advanced Science Institute, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Osada
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008870:Microtubules / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012235:Rhodamines / Q000737:chemistry; D014404:Tubulin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012235:Rhodamines; D014404:Tubulin
references.citation: J Phys Condens Matter. 2011 Sep 21;23(37):374104
references.pmid: 21862840
references.citation: Biophys J. 1997 Oct;73(4):2241-7
references.pmid: 9336220
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Nov 16;101(46):16099-103
references.pmid: 15534220
references.citation: Science. 1994 Apr 8;264(5156):245-8
references.pmid: 8146654
references.citation: J Mol Biol. 2002 Jun 28;320(1):97-106
references.pmid: 12079337
references.citation: Nat Cell Biol. 2006 Nov;8(11):1204-11
references.pmid: 17060901
references.citation: Biomacromolecules. 2008 Sep;9(9):2277-82
references.pmid: 18662029
references.citation: Science. 2011 Jul 22;333(6041):456-9
references.pmid: 21778400
references.citation: J Biol Chem. 1994 May 6;269(18):13353-60
references.pmid: 7909808
references.citation: J Am Chem Soc. 2009 Dec 23;131(50):18089-95
references.pmid: 19928896
references.citation: Nature. 1997 Sep 18;389(6648):305-8
references.pmid: 9305848
references.citation: Nature. 2012 Nov 15;491(7424):431-4
references.pmid: 23135402
references.citation: Phys Rev Lett. 2007 Jul 27;99(4):048101
references.pmid: 17678408
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Aug 23;108(34):E550-8
references.pmid: 21808023
references.citation: Nature. 2012 Mar 22;483(7390):448-52
references.pmid: 22437613
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Jul 11;103(28):10654-9
references.pmid: 16818889
references.citation: Protein Expr Purif. 2003 Nov;32(1):83-8
references.pmid: 14680943
references.citation: Nat Methods. 2005 Apr;2(4):299-303
references.pmid: 16167385
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Jul 5;103(27):10248-53
references.pmid: 16801537
references.citation: Science. 1989 Mar 24;243(4898):1593-6
references.pmid: 2928796