Molecular motor traffic in a half-open tube

TL;DR

This paper investigates the collective dynamics of molecular motors in axon-like half-open tubes, revealing phase transitions and jamming phenomena through analytical and simulation methods.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework for motor traffic in half-open tubes, highlighting phase transitions and jamming behavior not previously characterized.

Findings

Identification of phase transition when motor velocity changes sign

Characterization of jamming and density plateaus

Analytical and Monte Carlo simulation results support the model

Abstract

The traffic of molecular motors which interact through mutual exclusion is studied theoretically for half-open tube-like compartments. These half-open tubes mimic the shapes of axons. The mutual exclusion leads to traffic jams or density plateaus on the filaments. A phase transition is obtained when the motor velocity changes sign. We identify the relevant length scales and characterize the jamming behavior using both analytical approximations and Monte Carlo simulations of lattice models.