Prolonging assembly through dissociation: a self-assembly paradigm in microtubules

We study a one-dimensional model of microtubule assembly and disassembly in which GTP bound to tubulins within the microtubule undergoes stochastic hydrolysis. In contrast to models that consider only a cap of GTP-bound tubulin, stochastic hydrolysis allows GTP-bound tubulin remnants to exist within the microtubule. We find that these buried GTP remnants enable an alternative mechanism of recovery from shrinkage and enhances fluctuations of filament lengths. Under conditions for which this alternative mechanism dominates, an increasing depolymerization rate leads to a decrease in dissociation rate and thus a net increase in assembly.