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The Vagaries of Diffusion

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The Meaning of Nucleocytoplasmic Transport

Part of the book series: Molecular Biology Intelligence Unit ((MBIU))

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Abstract

In the first chapter we noted that molecule movements within a compartment are considered irrelevant to transport just as far as they can be attributed to diffusion; and conversely, so far as a molecule’s movements are not due to diffusion, they must be considered part of transport. We offered prima facie reasons for doubting whether cytoplasmic or nucleoplasmic proteins and RNAs could be held to ‘diffuse’ over distances many times greater than molecular dimensions, but our contention rested on an intuitive understanding of that term. The issue is central to the question of how we should properly conceive of nucleocytoplasmic transport, and is highly relevant to other aspects of cell physiology. It bears directly on the interpretation of experimental work and on the direction of some theorizing. Therefore we need to address the notion of ‘diffusion’ in detail.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland

    Paul S. Agutter Ph.D.

  2. Edinburgh, Scotland

    Philip L. Taylor Ph.D.

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  1. Paul S. Agutter Ph.D.
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  2. Philip L. Taylor Ph.D.
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© 1996 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Agutter, P.S., Taylor, P.L. (1996). The Vagaries of Diffusion. In: The Meaning of Nucleocytoplasmic Transport. Molecular Biology Intelligence Unit. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-22502-8_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-22502-8_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-22504-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-22502-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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