Glade Nicolas, Demongeot Jacques, Tabony James
Département de biologie moléculaire et structurale, laboratoire de résonance magnétique en biologie métabolique, DSV, CEA Grenoble, 17, rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble, France.
C R Biol. 2002 Apr;325(4):283-94. doi: 10.1016/s1631-0691(02)01436-1.
This article deals with the physical chemical processes underlying biological self-organization by which an initially homogenous solution of reacting chemicals spontaneously self-organizes so as to give rise to a preparation of macroscopic order and form. Theoreticians have predicted that self-organization can arise from a coupling of reactive processes with molecular diffusion. In addition, the presence or absence of an external field, such as gravity, at a critical moment early in the self-organizing process may determine the morphology that subsequently develops. We have found that the formation in vitro of microtubules, a major element of the cellular skeleton, show this type of behaviour. The microtubule preparations spontaneously self-organise by way of reaction and diffusion, and the morphology of the state that forms depends on the presence of gravity at a critical moment early in the process. We have developed a numerical reaction-diffusion scheme, based on the chemical dynamics of a population of microtubules, which simulates the experimental self-organisation. In this article we outline the main features of these simulations and discuss the manner by which a permanent dialogue with experiment has helped develop a microscopic understanding of the collective behaviour.
本文探讨了生物自组织背后的物理化学过程，通过这些过程，一种最初均匀的反应化学物质溶液会自发地自我组织，从而产生具有宏观秩序和形态的制剂。理论学家预测，自组织可能源于反应过程与分子扩散的耦合。此外，在自组织过程早期的关键时刻，外部场（如重力）的存在与否可能决定随后形成的形态。我们发现，细胞骨架的主要成分微管在体外的形成表现出这种行为。微管制剂通过反应和扩散自发地自我组织，形成状态的形态取决于该过程早期关键时刻重力的存在。我们基于一群微管的化学动力学开发了一种数值反应扩散方案，用于模拟实验性的自我组织。在本文中，我们概述了这些模拟的主要特征，并讨论了与实验的持续对话如何有助于发展对集体行为的微观理解。
