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Related Experiment Videos

Microtubule self-organisation depends upon gravity.

J Tabony1, N Pochon, C Papaseit

  • 1Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, Departement de Biologie Moleculaire et Structurale, Laboratoire de Resonanc Magnetique en Biologie Metabolique, C.E.A. Grenoble, France. jtabony@cea.fr

Advances in Space Research : the Official Journal of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR)
|January 22, 2002
PubMed
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This study reveals that microtubules, a key cytoskeletal component, exhibit gravity-dependent self-organization. Experiments in space demonstrated that low gravity prevents this self-organization, proving biological systems can be sensitive to gravity at a molecular level.

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Cell Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • The molecular mechanisms of gravity transduction in biological systems remain largely unknown.
  • Biochemical structures typically do not depend on gravity under equilibrium conditions.
  • Non-equilibrium, non-linear chemical reactions may exhibit gravity dependence through bifurcation properties.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the potential gravity dependence of biological systems.
  • To explore the self-organization properties of microtubules in vitro.
  • To experimentally demonstrate gravity sensitivity in a simple biochemical system.

Main Methods:

  • In vitro preparation of microtubules.
  • Observation of self-ordering and structural morphology under varying gravitational conditions.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Comparison of results obtained on Earth with those from a low-gravity sounding rocket experiment.

    • Main Results:

    • Microtubule solutions on Earth exhibit gravity-dependent macroscopic self-ordering.
    • The morphology of self-organized microtubule structures is influenced by sample orientation relative to gravity.
    • Microtubules assembled under low gravity conditions in a sounding rocket did not self-organize, as predicted.

    Conclusions:

    • This study provides experimental evidence for gravity sensitivity in a simple two-molecule biochemical system (microtubules).
    • The observed gravity dependence arises from the interaction of gravity with macroscopic concentration and density fluctuations during microtubule assembly.
    • These findings highlight a potential molecular mechanism for gravity transduction in biological systems.