RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Pivot-and-bond model explains microtubule bundle formation
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 157719
DO 10.1101/157719
A1 Marcel Prelogović
A1 Lora Winters
A1 Ana Milas
A1 Iva M. Tolić
A1 Nenad Pavin
YR 2017
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/06/29/157719.abstract
AB During mitosis, bundles of microtubules form a spindle, which is responsible for proper segregation of the genetic material. A key question is what are the physical principles underlying the formation and stability of microtubule bundles. Here we show, that random angular movement of microtubules around the spindle pole and forces exerted by passive cross-linking proteins are sufficient for the formation of stable microtubule bundles. We test these predictions by experiments in wild-type and ase1Δ fission yeast cells. In conclusion, the angular motion drives the alignment of microtubules, which in turn allows the cross-linking proteins to connect the microtubules into a stable bundle.