Motorless transport of microtubules along tubulin, RanGTP, and salt gradients.

ABSTRACT: Microtubules are dynamic filaments that assemble spindles for eukaryotic cell division. As the concentration profiles of soluble tubulin and regulatory proteins are non-uniform during spindle assembly, we asked if diffusiophoresis - motion of particles under solute gradients - can act as a motorless transport mechanism for microtubules. We identify the migration of stable microtubules along cytoplasmic and higher concentration gradients of soluble tubulin, MgCl₂, Mg-ATP, Mg-GTP, and RanGTP at speeds O(100) nm/s, validating the diffusiophoresis hypothesis. Using two buffers (BRB80 and CSF-XB), microtubule behavior under MgCl₂ gradients is compared with negatively charged particles and analyzed with a multi-ion diffusiophoresis and diffusioosmosis model. Microtubule dif

SUBMITTER: Shim S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11530526 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature