Parameters of the simulation
| Parameter | Value | Note/reference |
| Total time | 5,000 s | |
| Viscosity | 0.1 pN s/µm2 | 100x water |
| MTs | ||
| Amount | 200 | Kept constant by nucleation |
| Steric repulsion | Radius 0.025 µm | (Mitchison et al., 2004) |
| Stiffness 500 pN/µm every 0.25 µm | ||
| Bundling attraction | Radius 0.045 µm | |
| Stiffness 50 pN/µm every 0.25 µm | ||
| Plus-end assembly speeds | Growth 0.18 µm/s (10.8 µm/min) | (Carazo-Salas et al., 2001; |
| Shrinkage 0.33 µm/s (19.8 µm/min) | Tirnauer et al., 2004) | |
| Plus-end rates, low RanGTP | Catastrophe 0.1 s−1 | (Wilde et al., 2001; |
| Rescue 0.004 s−1 | Brown et al., 2007) | |
| Plus-end rates, high RanGTP | Catastrophe 0.024 s−1 | (Wilde et al., 2001) |
| Rescue 0.018 s−1 | ||
| Kinesin-5 motors | ||
| Amount | 6,000 | |
| Motor domain | Max speed 0.04 µm/s (2.4 µm/min) | (Valentine et al., 2006; |
| Stall force 5 pN | Korneev et al., 2007) | |
| Binding range 0.05 µm | ||
| Binding rate 2.5 s−1 | ||
| Unbinding rate 0.05 s−1 | ||
| Dual-motor complex | Stiffness 100 pN/µm | Has no binding specificity |
| Resting length 0.05 µm | ||
| NuMA sphere | ||
| Amount | 3,000 | |
| Radius | 0.025 µm | |
| Turnover rate | 0.1 s−1 | Allows dissociation of aggregates |
| Binding to MT minus end | Max distance 0.5 µm | |
| Binding rate 1 s−1 | ||
| Dynein driven motility | Max speed 0.8 µm/s (48 µm/min) | (Toba et al., 2006) |
| Stall force 2.5 pN | ||
| Binding range 0.05 µm | ||
| Binding rate 0.5 s−1 | ||
| Unbinding rate 0.05 s−1 | ||
| Depolymerization of MT minus-ends | −0.6 µm/min per sphere | |
| Discretization parameters | ||
| Time step | 0.005 s | |
| MT section length | 0.5 µm | For bending elasticity |
| MT initial length | 0.1045 µm | Length when created |
| MT minimal length | 0.04 µm | Shorter MTs are deleted |
| Parameter | Value | Note/reference |
| Total time | 5,000 s | |
| Viscosity | 0.1 pN s/µm2 | 100x water |
| MTs | ||
| Amount | 200 | Kept constant by nucleation |
| Steric repulsion | Radius 0.025 µm | (Mitchison et al., 2004) |
| Stiffness 500 pN/µm every 0.25 µm | ||
| Bundling attraction | Radius 0.045 µm | |
| Stiffness 50 pN/µm every 0.25 µm | ||
| Plus-end assembly speeds | Growth 0.18 µm/s (10.8 µm/min) | (Carazo-Salas et al., 2001; |
| Shrinkage 0.33 µm/s (19.8 µm/min) | Tirnauer et al., 2004) | |
| Plus-end rates, low RanGTP | Catastrophe 0.1 s−1 | (Wilde et al., 2001; |
| Rescue 0.004 s−1 | Brown et al., 2007) | |
| Plus-end rates, high RanGTP | Catastrophe 0.024 s−1 | (Wilde et al., 2001) |
| Rescue 0.018 s−1 | ||
| Kinesin-5 motors | ||
| Amount | 6,000 | |
| Motor domain | Max speed 0.04 µm/s (2.4 µm/min) | (Valentine et al., 2006; |
| Stall force 5 pN | Korneev et al., 2007) | |
| Binding range 0.05 µm | ||
| Binding rate 2.5 s−1 | ||
| Unbinding rate 0.05 s−1 | ||
| Dual-motor complex | Stiffness 100 pN/µm | Has no binding specificity |
| Resting length 0.05 µm | ||
| NuMA sphere | ||
| Amount | 3,000 | |
| Radius | 0.025 µm | |
| Turnover rate | 0.1 s−1 | Allows dissociation of aggregates |
| Binding to MT minus end | Max distance 0.5 µm | |
| Binding rate 1 s−1 | ||
| Dynein driven motility | Max speed 0.8 µm/s (48 µm/min) | (Toba et al., 2006) |
| Stall force 2.5 pN | ||
| Binding range 0.05 µm | ||
| Binding rate 0.5 s−1 | ||
| Unbinding rate 0.05 s−1 | ||
| Depolymerization of MT minus-ends | −0.6 µm/min per sphere | |
| Discretization parameters | ||
| Time step | 0.005 s | |
| MT section length | 0.5 µm | For bending elasticity |
| MT initial length | 0.1045 µm | Length when created |
| MT minimal length | 0.04 µm | Shorter MTs are deleted |