科研之友
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摘要
The roles of microtubules in living systems are outlined - and the ways in which they can both create and exploit liquid crystalline structures are stressed. It is argued that ordering in many biological systems arises from the director fields of liquid crystalline regions within the cells.Two biological processes are discussed - cell division by mitosis and the alignment of cellulose microfibrils in plant cell walls. In both cases microtubules are the key components and the events take place within what, as far as the cell is concerned, are global director fields. A link between these two widely disparate processes is identified, in terms of the mechanism of cell division in some dinoflagellates. A possible solution is offered to the long-standing problem of how plant cells are able to dictate the complex architecture of secondary walls through the plasma membrane.
- 出版日期2016
